Greater than 200 lawmakers in the UK have known as on the British authorities to recognise a Palestinian state, as stress mounts on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to take concrete motion amid Israel’s war on Gaza.
Some 221 MPs from throughout the political spectrum signed an open letter on Friday calling on Starmer’s Labour authorities to recognise a Palestinian state prematurely of a United Nations convention on Palestine subsequent week.
“We’re expectant that the end result of the convention would be the UK Authorities outlining when and the way it will act on its long-standing dedication on a two-state answer; in addition to the way it will work with worldwide companions to make this a actuality,” the letter reads.
“While we admire the UK doesn’t have it in its energy to deliver a few free and impartial Palestine, UK recognition would have a major influence as a consequence of our historic connections and our membership on the UN Safety Council, so we urge you to take this step.”
Parliamentarians from 9 political events have been among the many signatories, Labour MP Sarah Champion mentioned, together with Labour, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, SNP, and the Greens.
The letter comes as public anger is rising within the UK and around the globe over Israel’s continued bombardment and blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has spurred a deadly starvation crisis.
221 MPs, from 9 events, have despatched a joint letter to the Prime Minister & International Secretary urging them to recognise Palestine as a state now pic.twitter.com/b2hbX2XCGR
— Sarah Champion (@SarahChampionMP) July 25, 2025
It additionally comes a day after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would recognise the State of Palestine on the UN in September.
“According to its historic dedication to a simply and lasting peace within the Center East, I’ve determined that France will recognise the State of Palestine,” Macron mentioned in a social media submit on Thursday.
“I’ll make this solemn announcement earlier than the United Nations Common Meeting this coming September. The pressing precedence in the present day is to finish the struggle in Gaza and to deliver aid to the civilian inhabitants.”
Macron’s announcement drew the ire of Israeli leaders, together with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who mentioned the transfer “rewards terror”.
However Netanyahu has confronted widespread condemnation for Israel’s persevering with assault on Gaza, which has killed greater than 59,000 Palestinians because it started in October 2023.
Israel’s blockade of the enclave has triggered a deepening humanitarian disaster, with the United Nations and prime human rights teams reporting that many Palestinian kids at the moment are affected by extreme malnutrition and susceptible to dying.
In a press release on Friday, Starmer mentioned “the appalling scenes in Gaza are unrelenting”.
“The continued captivity of hostages, the hunger and denial of humanitarian support to the Palestinian folks, the growing violence from extremist settler teams, and Israel’s disproportionate navy escalation in Gaza are all indefensible,” he mentioned.
However Starmer stopped wanting asserting plans to recognise a Palestinian state, as a substitute saying he was working “on a pathway to peace within the area”.
“That pathway will set out the concrete steps wanted to show the ceasefire so desperately wanted, into an enduring peace,” he mentioned.
“Recognition of a Palestinian state needs to be a kind of steps. I’m unequivocal about that. But it surely should be a part of a wider plan which in the end leads to a two-state answer and lasting safety for Palestinians and Israelis.”
Reporting from a protest exterior Starmer’s residence in London on Friday afternoon, Al Jazeera’s Milena Veselinovic mentioned demonstrators expressed “outrage” on the British authorities’s stance amid the dire state of affairs in Gaza.
“Lots of them really feel powerless, so one of many solely issues they will do is collect right here, make as a lot noise as they will, and hope that it is going to be observed by the folks in energy,” she mentioned.
“They need Keir Starmer to do extra with the facility that he has, and with the affect that he has, to place an finish to this.”
Along with recognising a Palestinian state, the British authorities has confronted rising calls to sanction Israel and impose an arms embargo in opposition to the nation.
Veselinovic mentioned Starmer is in “a troublesome diplomatic state of affairs” as he prepares to satisfy United States President Donald Trump, who was travelling to Scotland on Friday.
She defined that Macron’s announcement added stress on the UK, which is an in depth ally of each France and the US, to additionally recognise a Palestinian state, however famous that Trump has criticised the French president’s transfer.
“It does look like a gulf is rising right here over what the European stance is general, which is way more aligned with what UN support companies are saying is occurring on the bottom in Gaza, and the American place, which appears to almost one hundred pc again no matter is the Israeli authorities’s model of occasions is,” she mentioned.
“And in the course of that’s Keir Starmer, who desires to take care of good relations with each side.”