Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has said warnings that the recognition of a Palestinian state could breach international law are “missing the point”.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced the UK would move towards recognition unless Israel met certain conditions, including agreeing a ceasefire and reviving the prospect of a two-state solution, earlier this week.
However, some of Britain’s most distinguished lawyers have warned that Palestine does not meet the legal requirements for statehood under a 1933 treaty.
Nearly 150 of the UN’s 193 members already formally recognise a Palestinian state, with Canada, Germany and Portugal considering recognition.
Under the Montevideo Convention, signed in 1933, the criteria for the recognition of a state under international law are set out as a defined territory, a permanent population, an effective government and the capacity to enter into relations with other states.
In a letter to the government’s attorney general, Lord Hermer, first reported by the Times, 43 cross-party peers call for him to advise the prime minister against recognition.
The group includes some of the country’s top lawyers, such as former Supreme Court judge Lord Collins of Mapesbury and Lord Pannick KC, who is a patron of UK Lawyers for Israel.
“It is clear that there is no certainty over the borders of Palestine,” they argue, and also that “there is no functioning single government, Fatah and Hamas being enemies”.
“The former has failed to hold elections for decades, and the latter is a terrorist organisation, neither of which could enter into relations with other states,” the letter adds.
The UK did not sign the 1933 convention but the lawyers argue that it has “become part of customary law and it would be unwise to depart from it at a time when international law is seen as fragile or, indeed, at any time”.
They add: “You have said that a selective, ‘pick and mix’ approach to international law will lead to its disintegration, and that the criteria set out in international law should not be manipulated for reasons of political expedience.
“Accordingly, we expect you to demonstrate this commitment by explaining to the public and to the government that recognition of Palestine would be contrary to the principles governing recognition of states in international law.”
Lord Hermer has previously insisted that a commitment to international law “goes absolutely to the heart” of the government’s approach to foreign policy.
Jonathan Reynolds defended the plans on BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme and suggested the peers needed to “look at the levers the UK has” to deliver peace.
Asked about the signatories’ concern recognition does not align with the 1933 Montevideo Convention, Reynolds said: “I think to be honest, with respect to those colleagues, that is missing the point somewhat.”
He explained the objective was “not just a ceasefire for the conflict in Gaza but a genuine peace process, and that requires a two-state solution”.
Asked about why conditions had not been placed on Hamas, he said: “Hamas is a terrorist organisation and we don’t put conditions on those, we don’t negotiate with terrorists.
“We’ve been absolutely clear: it’s our longstanding position that the hostages have to be released. It’s also our longstanding position that Hamas can play no role in the future governance of Gaza or any Palestinian state.
“So those are our absolute condition, but we will never be willing to negotiate with Hamas because they are a terrorist organisation.”
The peers’ intervention follows condemnation of Sir Keir’s announcement by Emily Damari, a British-Israeli women who was held captive by Hamas for more than a year, who said Sir Keir is “not standing on the right side of history”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also claimed it “rewards Hamas’s monstrous terrorism”.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his country plans to recognise a Palestinian state as part of the two-state solution – that is Israel and Palestine living side-by-side.
Carney said his decision was prompted by the “catastrophe” in Gaza, and because he feared the prospect of a Palestinian state was “receding before our eyes”.
The Palestinian Authority – which runs parts of the occupied West Bank – must commit to “much-needed reform” he said, and Hamas, which controlled Gaza, “can play no part”.
The UK has said it too would recognise a Palestinian state at a UN summit in September unless Israel committed to a ceasefire.
Sir Keir has said the UK will only refrain from recognition if Israel allows more aid into Gaza, stops annexing land in the West Bank, agrees to a ceasefire, and signs up to a long-term peace process over the next two months.
He also said Hamas must immediately release all remaining Israeli hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, disarm and “accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza”.
The question of international law has been repeatedly raised with the prime minister by more than 800 other lawyers, who allege Israel has flouted the Geneva Convention by committing war crimes including genocide in Gaza.