London, July 31:Ā Britain is now more actively weighing the recognition of a Palestinian state, two senior government officials said on Monday, a striking shift prompted by public revulsion at the images of starving children in the Gaza Strip and intense pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer from lawmakers in his own Labour Party.Starmer did not follow President Emmanuel Macron when he announced last week that France would recognise the state of Palestine. The British Prime Minister said in a statement at the time that recognition had to be part of āa wider plan which ultimately results in a two-state solution and lasting security for Palestinians and Israelis.ā
But the British officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal deliberations, said momentum was building because of the escalating humanitarian crisis, with reports of deaths from starvation in Gaza after months of restrictions on aid imposed by Israeli authorities.
Starmer has long backed the right of Palestinians to an independent state. But officials said he had resisted immediate recognition because he viewed it as a largely āperformativeā gesture that would not improve conditions on the ground and could even complicate negotiations to strike a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Those arguments have not satisfied the more than 250 members of Parliament from nine parties, including Labour, who signed a letter to Starmer and the foreign secretary, David Lammy, urging Britain to recognise Palestine at a United Nations conference this week devoted to a two-state solution.
While the lawmakers acknowledged that the āUK does not have it in its power to bring about a free and independent Palestine,ā they said recognition would have an impact because of Britainās role in the creation of the state of Israel. Other supporters said such a move would signal that the government recognises the tragedy unfolding in Gaza ā and is not going to simply stand by.
Members of Starmerās Cabinet are also pushing. The Prime Minister has recalled the ministers from recess for an emergency Cabinet meeting this week about the war in Gaza. That will come on the heels of Starmerās meeting with President Donald Trump on Monday at his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland.
Trump appeared to give Starmer more latitude to recognise a Palestinian state. Having dismissed Macronās move ā āWhat he says doesnāt matter; I like him, but that statement doesnāt carry weight,ā he said of the French president last week ā Trump pointedly did not discourage Starmer from following suit.
āIām not going to take a position; I donāt mind him taking a position,ā Trump said of Starmer on Monday, when asked about recognition. āIām looking to getting people fed right now. Thatās the No 1 position, because you have a lot of starving people.ā
Starmer pressed Trump to use his influence on Israel to get more food into Gaza ā and appeared to have made some headway.
The President said the United States would work with Britain and other European countries to set up food centres āwhere people can walk in and no boundaries.ā That was an apparent criticism of the aid distribution system managed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is run by American contractors and backed by Israel. Hundreds of people have been killed trying to obtain the aid.
Starmer also presented Trump with details of a European and British plan to bring lasting peace to Gaza, according to Downing Street. The Prime Minister has discussed the plan with Macron and Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany.
The debate over Gaza has put Starmer, a methodical former human rights lawyer, in an awkward position. He has vowed to adhere to international law in dealing with Israel. That led him to drop the previous governmentās challenge to arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant.
But Starmer also tends to shy away from symbolic acts. Critics of Palestinian recognition said such a move would fall squarely into that category and could be better used as leverage at a later stage of the crisis. They also said it raised a raft of legal questions that might vex Starmer.
āItās a political decision but it involves a whole range of legal criteria,ā said Kim Darroch, a former British national security adviser and ambassador to the United States. āIs there a government in control of the stateās territory? Can you conduct diplomatic relations with the state?ā
Others contend that Britain has moved too gingerly in pressuring Israel. It suspended some arms shipments to Israel last year. And it restored funding to the main United Nations relief agency for Palestinians, which Israeli officials had accused of complicity with Hamas militants.
Last month, the British government imposed sanctions on two far-right members of Netanyahuās Cabinet, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, for what it said was their role in inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. Britain acted with Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway ā concerted action that some diplomats said they would expect it to use again on Palestinian recognition.
France was the first member of the Group of 7 major industrialized nations to announce it would recognise a Palestinian state. Macron characterized the move as part of Franceās āhistorical commitment to a just and durable peace in the Middle East.ā Norway, Spain and Ireland recognized Palestine as a state last year.