Keir Starmer will reportedly recognise a Palestinian state over the weekend after Donald Trump concludes his state visit to the UK.
The prime minister has previously said he plans to recognise Palestinian statehood before the UN general assembly in New York this month if Israel does not meet a series of conditions to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
High-level meetings at the UN summit involving world leaders begin on 23 September. According to the Times, Starmer has held off on formally announcing the UK will recognise a Palestinian state until after Trump leaves for fear it could dominate a Thursday news conference the two men plan to hold at Chequers.
The prime minister has found himself at odds with the US administration over the move, which is opposed to giving official recognition to the state. However, other nations including France, Australia and Canada have said they plan to take the same step at the UN gathering.
In July, Starmer announced he would recognise Palestine’s statehood after mounting pressure from Labour MPs over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza. But the Labour leader suggested British recognition was conditional and he would refrain if Israel committed to a ceasefire and long-term sustainable peace that delivers a two-state solution, and allow the UN to restart the supply of aid.
All three conditions are, however, unlikely to be met given the Israeli government opposes these terms. Israeli forces are undertaking a major ground offensive in Gaza, with thousands forced to flee in recent days.
The state of Palestine is already recognised by 147 of the UN’s 193 member states.
Elsewhere, Sadiq Khan has for the first time described the situation in Gaza as a “genocide”. The mayor of London told an audience at a people’s question time event on Wednesday: “I think what’s happening in Gaza is a genocide.
“When I see the images of the children starving – 20,000 children have starved because of the policies of the Israeli government – when I see the health system in Gaza collapsed, when I see the lack of supplies reaching people in need, when I see the famine that is manmade, when I read the interim judgment of the ICJ, and then see a UN commission report this week, I think it’s inescapable to draw the conclusion in Gaza we are seeing before our very eyes a genocide.”
On Tuesday, a UN commission of inquiry said it had reasonable grounds to conclude Israel was committing a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel’s foreign ministry said it categorically rejected the report, denouncing it as “distorted and false”.