There are growing calls for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to announce that the UK will recognise a state of Palestine without ifs and buts. PA
There are growing calls for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to announce that the UK will recognise a state of Palestine without ifs and buts. PA
There are growing calls for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to announce that the UK will recognise a state of Palestine without ifs and buts. PA
There are growing calls for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to announce that the UK will recognise a state of Palestine without ifs and buts. PA

'Decision is taken': UK urged to recognise state of Palestine without delay


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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is under pressure to recognise a state of Palestine without delay after a government insider described the decision-making process at Westminster as a formality.

With more than half of the British public now hostile to Israel's conduct of the war in Gaza, the UK government has an opportunity to formalise recognition.

A new YouGov poll has found that public disapproval of the war is growing, with 51 per cent of Britons considering Israel's actions unjustified. Only one in five (21 per cent) believe that they are justified.

“In practice, the decision is taken,” said Sir Vincent Fean, a consul general to Jerusalem between 2010 and 2014. He is urging the Prime Minister to drop conditions. "Recognition of Palestine is an opportunity – and a threat or punishment for no one."

The survey results could alter the UK government's approach to issues beyond recognition, such as “ensuring Israeli policy in Gaza and the West Bank changes”, Mr Fean told The National.

The UK has said it is ready to recognise Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in late September, but has given Israel weeks to meet certain conditions before it does so.

Mr Starmer said he will take the step if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not move towards ending the war and restarting a peace process.

Many believe that recognition will go ahead, as Mr Netanyahu continues to reject the proposal of a peace process.

Palestinian diplomat Husam Zomlot last month addressed the Durham Miners Association at their 139th annual gala in northern England. Getty Images
Palestinian diplomat Husam Zomlot last month addressed the Durham Miners Association at their 139th annual gala in northern England. Getty Images

Foreign Office assessment

The assessment of whether or not Israel has met the Prime Minister's conditions is likely to be made by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office before UNGA. The Cabinet Office will be consulted about its conclusions, Mr Fean told The National.

The decision cannot be challenged due to being taken using prerogative powers at the government’s disposal. “There won’t be a committee, there is no requirement for parliament to decide,” he said.

British officials are working on the “nuts and bolts” of judging how Israel would meet the criteria set out by Mr Starmer “and how that would be agreed or disagreed”, sources told The National.

Legal advisers said the resolution on recognising Palestinian statehood can be put forward to the UN General Assembly, then a vote is taken “and that's it”.

Yet Whitehall insiders accept that unless there is a change of government in Israel or a “change of heart from Netanyahu in the way he’s prosecuting the war”, they will not fulfil the British conditions.

“This is an attempt to get the peace process back on track, but it's quite clear that the Israelis don't want to go there,” a Whitehall source said. “So, Palestinian state recognition is going to happen.”

With relations between Israel and Britain at possibly their lowest ebb, it is understood there will be no visit of any UK ministers to the country in the near future.

British relatives of Oded Lifshitz, whose body is being held by Hamas, met with the Foreign Office this week. Getty.
British relatives of Oded Lifshitz, whose body is being held by Hamas, met with the Foreign Office this week. Getty.

Hostage pleas

Opponents of the decision include the families of British hostages in Gaza, who fear that it would give Hamas an incentive to prolong the war. Members of the four families met with the Foreign Office on Thursday evening to raise their concerns.

“It was clear from the meeting last night that the British government’s policy will not help the hostages, and could even hurt them,” said their lawyer Adam Wagner KC.

“It was made obvious to us at the meeting that … in deciding whether to go ahead with recognition, the release or otherwise of the hostages would play no part,” he wrote in a statement.

Political question

The Labour government said it would be guided by international law in its foreign policy making.

But the decision to recognise Palestine is being framed as a political question, with Business Minister Gareth Thomas telling Sky News that “recognition of another state is a political judgment”.

Nonetheless, it is likely that Mr Starmer will “want to have legal cover” for the recognition, with Foreign Office lawyers working up a “cold, technical approach to it”, former diplomat Edmund Fitton-Brown told The National.

“They will likely set up a mechanism which will enable them to say that the British conditions have not been met,” he said.

The former ambassador to Yemen suggested that UNGA was the “least problematic forum for the upgrade”. Many heads of state or government will be present in September, including Mr Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and possibly Mahmoud Abbas from the Palestinian Authority – if the US allows him to enter.

This is not lost on critics. “The government usually tries to shut down debate by characterising political issues as legal questions (immigration, Chagos Islands),” said shadow attorney general Lord David Wolfson, writing on social media.

“It’s now trying to argue that recognition of a foreign state, which has always been and universally as a legal question, is only a political issue.”

Earlier, peers and leading lawyers opposing recognition wrote to Attorney General Lord Richard Hermer, to warn that the move could break international law.

Mr Hermer’s office would not comment on whether or not he had advised the government on recognition, citing a longstanding convention.

Conditions questioned

Mr Starmer also faces pressure to recognise Palestine at UNGA but without the conditions he set out this week.

Christopher Chessun, the Anglican Bishop of Southwark, who is the House of Lords Lead Bishop for the Middle East, said it was “disappointing” that the recognition had been used as a “bargaining chip”.

“The UK has a particular historical and moral duty to recognise the state of Palestine, and it is therefore disappointing that this recognition has been made conditional,” he said in a letter.

“The right of the Palestinian people to self-determination is not a bargaining chip, and there can be no conditions placed on it,” he wrote, in the letter co-signed by other Church of England bishops.

“We urge the government to move ahead with recognition of Palestine regardless of the facts on the ground.”

Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters

The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.

 Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.

A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.

The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.

The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.

Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.

Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment

But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.

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  • £250m to train new AI models
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Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

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Nissan 370z Nismo

Engine: 3.7-litre V6

Transmission: seven-speed automatic

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Dislikes: Sunlight. Being a nocturnal animal, the slow loris wakes around sunset and is active throughout the night

Superpowers: His dangerous elbows. The slow loris’s doe eyes may make it look cute, but it is also deadly. The only known venomous primate, it hisses and clasps its paws and can produce a venom from its elbow that can cause anaphylactic shock and even death in humans

It Was Just an Accident

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Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr

Rating: 4/5

The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont

Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950

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What are the regulations?
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  • Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
  • Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
  • Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
  • Should have a live feed of the drone flight
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The Settlers

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Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz

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In

  • Raed Mozafar Abu Al Saoud, Minister of Water and Irrigation
  • Dr Bassam Samir Al Talhouni, Minister of Justice
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  • Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research
  • Falah Abdalla Al Ammoush, Minister of Public Works and Housing
  • Basma Moussa Ishakat, Minister of Social Development
  • Dr Ghazi Monawar Al Zein, Minister of Health
  • Ibrahim Sobhi Alshahahede, Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Environment
  • Dr Mohamed Suleiman Aburamman, Minister of Culture and Minister of Youth

Out

  • Dr Adel Issa Al Tawissi, Minister of High Education and Scientific Research
  • Hala Noaman “Basiso Lattouf”, Minister of Social Development
  • Dr Mahmud Yassin Al Sheyab, Minister of Health
  • Yahya Moussa Kasbi, Minister of Public Works and Housing
  • Nayef Hamidi Al Fayez, Minister of Environment
  • Majd Mohamed Shoueika, Minister of Public Sector Development
  • Khalid Moussa Al Huneifat, Minister of Agriculture
  • Dr Awad Abu Jarad Al Mushakiba, Minister of Justice
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The biog

Hobbies: Salsa dancing “It's in my blood” and listening to music in different languages

Favourite place to travel to: “Thailand, as it's gorgeous, food is delicious, their massages are to die for!”  

Favourite food: “I'm a vegetarian, so I can't get enough of salad.”

Favourite film:  “I love watching documentaries, and am fascinated by nature, animals, human anatomy. I love watching to learn!”

Best spot in the UAE: “I fell in love with Fujairah and anywhere outside the big cities, where I can get some peace and get a break from the busy lifestyle”

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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Airev
Started: September 2023
Founder: Muhammad Khalid
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Generative AI
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
 
Updated: September 17, 2025, 1:13 PM