UK, Australia, Canada Announce Recognition Of Palestinian State

 

 

UK, Australia, Canada Announce Recognition Of Palestinian State

The United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada have formally recognized the State of Palestine, marking a coordinated diplomatic push to reinvigorate efforts toward a two-state solution.

In a joint statement, the three countries emphasized their support for Palestinian aspirations to establish an independent homeland carved from Israeli-occupied territories.

Additional countries, including France, are expected to announce similar recognition later this week during proceedings at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The UK government on Sunday announced that it is officially recognising a Palestinian state, citing Israel’s failure to meet conditions, including a ceasefire in the nearly two-year-old Gaza war.

 

This was confirmed by the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a post on his verified X (formerly Twitter) account.

“Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two-state solution, the United Kingdom formally recognises the State of Palestine,” Starmer wrote.

 

In a video attached to the X post, the UK Prime Minister said, “In the face of the growing horror in the Middle East, we are acting to keep alive the possibility of peace and a two-state solution.

 

“That means a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable Palestinian state. At the moment, we have neither.

“Ordinary people, Israeli and Palestinian, deserve to live in peace, to try to rebuild their lives free from violence and suffering. That is what the British people desperately want to see.

“Yet, almost two years after the barbaric attacks of October 7th, hostages are still held by the terrorists of Hamas. Recent images showed the hostages suffering and emaciated.”

Starmer lamented the suffering of hostages being held by Hamas and decried Hamas’ refusal to release the hostages.

“Hamas even refuses to release all the bodies of the dead. I have met British families of the hostages,” he said.

“I see the torture that they endure each and every day. Pain that strikes deep in people’s hearts across Israel and here in the United Kingdom.

 

“The hostages must be released immediately. And we will keep fighting to bring them home. Let’s be frank, Hamas is a brutal terror organization.”

“A call for a genuine two-state solution is the exact opposite of their hateful vision,” the British leader said.

 

“So, we are clear, this solution is not a reward for Hamas because it means Hamas can have no future, no role in government, no role in security.

 

“We have already proscribed and sanctioned Hamas and we will go further. I have directed work to sanction other Hamas figures in the coming weeks.”

 

However, he said, “Meanwhile, the manmade humanitarian crisis in Gaza reaches new depths. The Israeli government’s relentless and increasing bombardment of Gaza, the offensive of recent weeks, the starvation and devastation are utterly intolerable.

 

“Tens of thousands have been killed, including thousands, as they tried to collect food and water. This death and destruction horrify all of us. It must end.”

 

The move places Britain among more than 140 countries that have taken similar steps, but it is expected to provoke anger in Israel and its main ally, the United States.

 

The decision has been seen as carrying symbolic weight, given Britain’s central role in Israel’s creation after World War Two and its longstanding alliance with the Jewish state.

 

Canada and Australia also recognised a Palestinian state on Sunday.

 

In July, the UK government warned Israel that Britain would recognise a Palestinian state unless it moved to end what the prime minister called the “appalling situation” in Gaza.

 

The ultimatum required Israel to reach a ceasefire with Hamas militants, allow greater humanitarian aid into Gaza, renounce annexation of the West Bank, and commit to a peace process leading to a two-state solution.

 

Reacting to Starmer’s announcement, the head of the Palestinian Mission in London, Husam Zomlot, hailed the UK’s decision, describing it as a “long-overdue recognition” and stressed it was about Britain’s own obligations, according to Reuters.

 

“It is not about Palestine, but about Britain’s fulfilment of a solemn responsibility. It marks an irreversible step towards justice, peace, and the correction of historic wrongs,” Zomlot reportedly said in a statement.

 

The recognition could lead to the Palestinian Mission in London being upgraded to a full embassy and might also pave the way for banning products from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

 

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the idea of Palestinian statehood.

 

Netanyahu declared earlier in September 2025 that “there will never be a Palestinian state” and accused countries that recognise Palestine of rewarding “Hamas’s monstrous terrorism,” a position Starmer rejected and clarified in his message on Sunday.

 

Reactions among Britons were, however, reportedly mixed.

 

Michael Angus, a 56-year-old charity director, who welcomed the announcement, was quoted as saying, “This is the first step in actually acknowledging that those people have a right to have somewhere to call home.”

 

But Stephen, a retiree who withheld his surname, said the government “probably means well” but warned the move was misguided.

 

According to Stephen, “They are sort of abandoning Israel… and with Hamas, (they) are almost sort of supporting them.”

 

Lammy previously reminded that Britain bears a historic responsibility for helping deliver a two-state solution, dating back to the 1917 Balfour Declaration, which pledged support for a Jewish homeland while promising not to infringe on Arab rights.

 

British forces captured Jerusalem from the Ottoman Empire in 1917, and in 1922, the League of Nations gave Britain the mandate to administer Palestine, shaping the political divisions that still define the Middle East.

 

“While a welcome step, Britain owes Palestine far more than recognition,” said Victor Kattan, a public international law professor and adviser to the “Britain Owes Palestine” campaign, who called for an apology and reparations for Britain’s role in engineering violent divisions.