UK, Canada and Australia announce recognition of Palestinian state

Keir Starmer hopes for a shift back towards a two-state solution for peace and security for all sides

Ahead of a formal declaration at the UN General Assembly, the UK, Canada, Australia and Portugal have said they now recognise the state of Palestine.

Seven other states – France, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra – will also be making the same declaration in New York City on Monday.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his decision would “revive the hope of peace and a two-state solution” and added that “ordinary people, Israeli and Palestinian, deserve to live in peace”.

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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on X that his government was also recognising Palestine on Sunday, as did Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong in a joint statement.

“Canada recognises the state of Palestine and offers our partnership in building the promise of a peaceful future for both the State of Palestine and the state of Israel,” Mr Carney wrote.

Mr Starmer said in July that the UK would recognise the state of Palestine before the UN General Assembly unless Israel met a range of conditions.

“To revive the hope of peace and a two-state solution I state clearly, as Prime Minister of this great country that the United Kingdom formally recognises the state of Palestine,” Mr Starmer said. “The hope of a two-state solution is fading, but we cannot let that light go out.

“That is why we are building consensus with leaders in the region and beyond around our framework for peace.”

Portugal's Foreign Minister, Paulo Rangel, later announced on Sunday that the country has also recognised the state of Palestine, Reuters reported.

Palestine's top diplomat in London, Husam Zomlot, will now become the country's ambassador to the UK. “The wrongs of the past are beginning to be corrected,” Mr Zomot said.

Husam Zomlot, who will now become the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, was interviewed by the BBC on Sunday. Jeff Overs/BBC/PA Wire

Mr Zomlot will raise the Palestinian flag on Monday outside of what is now the embassy – an office building in Hammersmith that has served as the country's diplomatic outpost in London since the 1990s.

Earlier this month he described the UK's potential recognition as “unique” because of its colonial history in Palestine, but added that it was a “starting gun” towards the wider goals of ending the war and the occupation.

A date for formalising the new diplomatic relations and accepting the Mr Zomlot's credentials has not yet been set.

French President Emmanuel Macron will be at the UN General Assembly on Monday, while Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will appear via video link.

With the number of countries recognising Palestine about to surpass 150, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated his position that establishing a Palestinian state endangers Israel's existence.

The UK's recognition comes after it stepped up criticism of Israel, even though it continues to shy away from calls for further sanctions. There is currently no obligation for the UK to sanction Israel for its occupation of Palestine, according to government advice.

Last week the number of Palestinians killed in Israel's war in Gaza went above 65,000. Critics of the UK government say that there is still a need for sanctions and a full arms embargo to bring about an end to Israel's military campaign in Gaza.

They point to the International Court of Justice's advisory opinion of 2024, which found Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories unlawful and advises member states, including the UK, not provide “aid or assistance” that contributes to it. The Israeli government views the recognition of Palestinian statehood as a “reward” for Hamas.

It was a charge that Mr Starmer took on directly on Sunday, as he condemned the brutality of Hamas. “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,” he said. “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.”

Opinion polls

In a YouGov survey released last week, 44 per cent of Britons questioned said they supported recognition of Palestine, with 18 per cent opposed. The support rose to 65 per cent among 18 to 24-year-olds.

British Jews protest recognition outside parliament. Photo: Gary Perlmutter / Board of Deputies of British Jews

Meanwhile, support for a two-state solution from British Jews has fallen to below 50 per cent for the first time, according to polling from the Institute for Jewish Policy Research.

About 78 per cent of British Jews supported a two-state solution in 2010, but that has dropped by almost a third to 49 per cent.

The opinions, according to the date, are partly generational, with 40 per cent of 16 to 29-year-olds showing preference for one state with two nationalities. More orthodox communities also showed “considerable scepticism” for two states “most likely on security grounds”.

British people opposing the recognition campaigned outside parliament on Friday, asking the government to “recognise this” while holding up images of an emaciated hostage trapped in Gaza. Hamas has not moved to release the remaining hostages as the September recognition date loomed closer.

“Do not reward Hamas’ terror with premature recognition of a Palestinian state,” the Board of Deputies – the largest body representing British Jews – wrote on social media.

The UK's Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, warned that recognition was “a historic error of foreign policy, which will only impede the cause of peace”.

“It is a reward for terrorism, while the hostages remain in chains,” he said.

The UK has acknowledged its historic responsibility to facilitate a two-state solution, dating back to the 1917 Balfour Declaration, which pledged that the creation of a Jewish state would not infringe on Arab rights. Arthur Balfour was the foreign secretary who signed the letter endorsing Zionist ambitions at the time.

British troops captured Jerusalem from the Ottoman Empire in 1917, and in 1922 the League of Nations awarded Britain an international mandate to administer Palestine during the postwar deal-making that redrew the map of the Middle East.

Local consultations

One of the UK's leading Muslim office holders, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, welcomed the symbolism of the announcements. “Well let’s not underestimate the importance of symbolism,” he said. “I’ve spoken to people who have family in Gaza and they know what’s happening around the world. It’s really important for them to understand they’re not suffering in silence.”

Mr Starmer met both the Palestinian and Israeli president earlier this month as the government prepared for its recognition declaration.

London has also been working on a framework peace plan in an effort to boost the reputation of the Palestinian Authority, which is increasingly beleaguered in the West Bank.

Mr Starmer also met Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa earlier in the year to discuss directly reforms to the PA and unify the leadership in the West Bank and Gaza.