UK MPs build pressure on PM Starmer over recognising Palestine as British govt extends help to starving Gaza
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "UK MPs build pressure on PM Starmer over recognising Palestine as British govt extends help to starving Gaza")
A video grab from footage broadcast by the UK Parliament's Parliamentary Recording Unit (PRU) shows Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaking during a Parliamentary Liaison Committee hearing, in London on, July 21, 2025. Photograph: (AFP)
UK PM Keir Starmer is facing pressure to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN conference next week. Even as he confirmed the UK's plans to drop aid into starving Gaza, the British leader said THIS about recognising Palestinian statehood.
United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer continues to resist calls to recognise a Palestinian state even as he confirmed his government's plan to airdrop aid into Gaza and evacuate children who need medical access to help relieve what Downing Street has labelled an appalling situation. Reports suggest that amid mass starvation in Gaza, the UK PM is facing pressure from inside his cabinet and MPs to recognise a Palestinian state - around 221 MPs one third of the House of Commons on Saturday (Jul 26) have signed a letter urging him to that end.
A Palestinian statehood
As Gaza sinks deeper into a humanitarian nightmare, more than 221 British MPs, including members of the prime minister's own front bench, have signed a letter urging him to make a formal announcement recognising Palestinian statehood at a UN conference next week. The coordinated push, led by Labour MP Sarah Champion, calls on the UK government to finally act on its long-standing commitment to a two-state solution.
"We are expectant that the outcome of the conference will be the UK Government outlining when and how it will act on its long-standing commitment on a two-state solution; as well as how it will work with international partners to make this a reality," said the ministers. As per Mirror, Champion acknowledged that "recognition alone will not end the suffering in Gaza" but said that it would be an important step towards a two-state solution and eventually the end of the war.
"Recognition would send a powerful symbolic message that we support the rights of the Palestinian people, that they are not alone and they need to maintain hope that there is a route that leads to lasting peace and security for both the Israeli and the Palestinian people," she said.
UK's efforts to relieve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza
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In an op-ed published Friday night, Starmer acknowledged the horror unfolding in Gaza. "It is a humanitarian catastrophe. And it must end now," he wrote, pledging to "pull every lever we have to get food and lifesaving support to the Palestinian people immediately."
However, on the question of recognising Palestine as an independent state, Starmer said that moment must come as part of a pathway to a lasting peace in the region. "It must be part of a wider plan which ultimately results in a two-state solution and lasting security for Palestinians and Israelis," he wrote. Starmer said that this was the "way to ensure that recognition is a tool of maximum impact to improve the lives of those who are suffering – which must always be our ultimate goal."
