Damian Grammaticas
Europe correspondent
Watch: BBC presses UK foreign secretary on timing of recognising Palestinian state
Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said the UK is attempting to “affect the situation on the ground” in Gaza after the government announced it would recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agreed to end the crisis in Gaza.
Speaking to the BBC’s Tom Bateman at the UN in New York, Lammy said the world had seen “the most horrific scenes” in Gaza and called for a ceasefire.
The time had come, he said, to “abate the suffering of the Palestinian people” and set a pathway to peace.
But the decision has been criticised by opposition parties, with the Liberal Democrats saying recognition should happen right away, and the Conservatives and Reform UK arguing now is not the right time.
The UK government has previously said recognition of a Palestinian state should come at a point when it can have maximum impact, as part of a peace process.
Lammy said Tuesday’s announcement “puts us on a pathway towards recognition”.
“It is my sincere hope that the decision that we have taken today affects the situation on the ground, and we get to that ceasefire, we get to those hostages coming out as soon as possible,” he told the BBC.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hit back at the announcement, saying the move rewarded “Hamas’s monstrous terrorism” and “appeasement towards jihadist terrorists always fails”.
Lammy added that the global community was “deeply offended by children being shot and killed as they reach out for aid” and called for the flow of medical equipment and supplies to be restored.
Labour MP Dame Emily Thornberry welcomed this shift in UK policy as a “historic moment”.
“I have been calling on the government to take this step for months… we must not underestimate the significance of this move,” she said in a statement.
Dame Emily chairs the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, which just last week said the UK must act before there was no Palestinian state left on the ground to recognise.
She added: “Recognition is not a end by itself, it must be the first step to a long-term, two-state solution.”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey was critical however, saying recognition should not be used as “a bargaining chip” to apply pressure to Israel and there should be no conditions attached.
“Rather than use recognition, which should have taken place many months ago, as a bargaining chip, the prime minister should be applying pressure on Israel by fully ceasing arms sales, and implementing sanctions against the Israeli cabinet,” he said.
Getty Images
Palestinians crowd a food distribution site as Gaza continues to face crippling aid shortages
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said that, while she supported Palestinian statehood, doing it now would not solve the war or the humanitarian crisis.
“Recognising a Palestinian state won’t bring the hostages home, won’t end the war and won’t get aid into Gaza. This is political posturing at its very worst,” she said in a social media post.
Badenoch added that Prime MInister Sir Keir Starmer was trying to fix a political problem in the Labour Party as he had faced mounting pressure from his own MPs.
Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf also criticised the government’s decision, telling the BBC’s Newsnight programme that it was a “political calculation” by the prime minister.
“What this does is to trivialise, quite offensively actually, a horrendous situation in Gaza,” he said.
In Tuesday’s address, Sir Keir said Israel must also meet other conditions, including agreeing to a ceasefire, committing to a long-term sustainable peace that delivers a two-state solution and allowing the UN to restart the supply of aid.
He added that Hamas must immediately release all hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, disarm and accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza.
The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 60,034 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s health ministry.
PM: UK will recognise Palestinian state unless conditions met