The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, officially recognizes the state of Palestine, which means a significant shift in the agenda of British foreign policy, as he had already announced in the past month of August when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied the humanitarian crisis and famine in the Gaza Strip. At that time, the British leader warned that he would recognize Palestine as a sovereign state at the United Nations General Assembly in September.
Other countries that also did the same as the United Kingdom were Australia and Canada. On one hand, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recognizes "legitimate and long-standing aspirations," but stated that an embassy and active diplomatic relations will be established once Palestine meets the reforms requested by the international community. Meanwhile, Canada became the first G7 country to recognize Palestine as a sovereign state. Prime Minister Mark Carney made this decision after announcing it on his social media platform X, criticizing Netanyahu's government, which he accused of persistently assaulting Gaza, killing tens of thousands of civilians, displacing millions of people, and causing devastating famine and unilateral contempt for international legal norms.
Keir Starmer, in addition to confirming Palestinian sovereignty, says that his decision is based on a coordinated international effort to promote the possibility of a two-state solution but qualifies Hamas as "a brutal terrorist organization," stating that this two-state solution is opposed to a vision of hate. In addition, the Prime Minister asserts that this measure is not a reward for Hamas, as it guarantees nothing for this group, which will not play any role in the future of Palestine either in governance or in security.
Thus, the three leaders agreed that Hamas should have no role in the future Palestinian political and institutional structure, and Starmer announced that he would work hard to sanction the key figures of Hamas in the coming weeks.
The decision made by Starmer provoked a rejection from Israel, labeling it as a "reward for Hamas" in response to announcements from the authorities of the Western countries. Ultr nationalism leaders have planned retaliation measures such as diplomatic condemnation, as announced by ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, who proposed to Benjamin Netanyahu the formal annexation of the West Bank in response to events. This would mean the immediate imposition of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria (located in the West Bank) and the definitive elimination of the absurd idea of a Palestinian state. Moreover, Netanyahu had declared that the creation of a Palestinian state would endanger the existence of the state of Israel and would be an act of terrorism, and he would oppose these efforts at the United Nations General Assembly.
The United States also disagreed with the decision made, as Donald Trump stated that he previously opposed this measure and now does so as well because he will not follow the path chosen by these three Western countries.
These announcements will take place during the sessions of the UN General Assembly that will be held in the coming weeks in New York, where other European nations are expected to do the same. This would be the case for Portugal, which also supports the idea of recognizing two states as the only way to achieve lasting peace that promotes coexistence and diplomatic relations between both states. The same is also expected from French President Emmanuel Macron at the United Nations.
Finally, this fact could signify a wide degree of international recognition, putting an end to a long history of disputes and confrontations with Israel. After 77 years of division between these states and 18 years of internal division, there has been ossification, generating deep cynicism among Palestinians regarding political leadership and reconciliation possibilities. Closing with the idea that this represents a strong moral and political statement, but that it will change very little about the Gaza Strip.
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