UK Will Recognise Palestine by September if Israel Doesn’t Change Course, Says PM Starmer

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has put Israel on the clock: unless it takes meaningful steps toward peace, the UK will officially recognise the state of Palestine by September.

In a surprise move following an emergency cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Starmer told ministers that recognition could come ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in New York — but only if Israel fails to agree to a ceasefire, halts annexation plans in the occupied West Bank, and shows real support for a two-state solution.

The message? End the war on Gaza, or the UK will shift its diplomatic stance.

The government’s statement following the meeting was blunt: Starmer reaffirmed there’s “no equivalence between Israel and Hamas” and demanded Hamas release all hostages, commit to a ceasefire, disarm, and step away from any future role in Gaza’s governance. But he made clear that Israel, too, must be held accountable.

The decision marks a major shift in UK policy. While past governments have expressed support for recognising Palestine “when the time is right,” none have tied it to a firm timeline — or made the conditions this explicit.

With more than half of Labour’s backbench MPs signing a letter demanding recognition as leverage to push Israel toward peace, Starmer’s own party has been building the pressure. And it’s showing.

“This is intended to further that cause,” Starmer told reporters, referring to the two-state solution. “It’s done now because I’m particularly concerned that the idea of a two-state solution is reducing and feels further away today than it has for many years.”

Starmer cut short ministers’ summer breaks to discuss a draft European peace plan and ways to ramp up humanitarian aid in Gaza, where famine warnings from the UN grow louder by the day.

He also said recognition would be part of an eight-point plan the UK is co-developing with European allies. France’s President Emmanuel Macron announced last week that France will formally recognise Palestine — making it the biggest EU country yet to do so. Spain, Norway and Ireland have already gone there.

Labour MP Sarah Champion, who spearheaded the recognition push, said waiting for a “perfect moment” is no longer an option — and that this might be the last real chance to make it count.

With input from Al Jazeera