Hamas has claimed triumph for “the justice of our cause” after Sir Keir Starmer dropped a bombshell announcement that Britain would recognise Palestinian statehood.
The Prime Minister insisted in a video message on Sunday that the move – one of the most seismic shifts in British foreign policy for decades – was “not a reward for Hamas”.
But Mahmoud Mardaw, a senior Hamas official, seized on the decision as “a victory for Palestinian rights and the justice of our cause” and declared it would “send a clear message” to Israel reports The Telegraph. The news comes as it was announced Starmer’s controversial Palestine decision could cost £2trn in reparations.
Trump slams decision as rewarding terrorists
US President Donald Trump delivered a scathing verdict on the announcement on Sunday night, branding the decision as “rewarding Hamas”.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, he added: “I don’t think they should be rewarded. I am not in that camp, to be honest.”
Sir Keir claimed his decision would “revive the hope of peace and a two-state solution” ahead of a UN General Assembly meeting in New York on Monday, where Western countries are expected to pressure Israel for a Gaza ceasefire.
“With the actions of Hamas, the Israeli government escalating the conflict and settlement building being accelerated in the West Bank, the hope of a two-state solution is fading, but we cannot let that light go out,” he said.
Starmer brands Hamas “brutal terror organisation”
Alongside similar announcements from Canada and Australia, the Prime Minister described Hamas as a “brutal terror organisation”.
He said: “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.”
Sir Keir also blasted the Israeli government’s “cruel tactics” of blocking aid at the border and branded a recent surge in Gaza bombing as “utterly intolerable”.
Netanyahu vows to block Palestinian state
The decision triggered fury from Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, who branded it “a huge reward for terrorism” on October 7 and vowed: “It will not happen. A Palestinian state will not be established west of the Jordan River.”
Netanyahu declared he would continue the illegal Israeli settlement of the West Bank, after two of his hard-Right ministers called for the territory to be annexed entirely.
Jewish groups condemn “Chamberlain moment”
Jewish organisations, including the Board of Deputies of British Jews, slammed the decision, warning there will be “deep dismay at the Prime Minister’s announcement across the Jewish community”.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism went further, branding the decision “Sir Keir Starmer‘s Neville Chamberlain moment”.
Meanwhile, the families of hostages held by Hamas accused the UK and its allies of a “catastrophic failure of political, moral and diplomatic leadership” and demanded any recognition of Palestine must be tied to the release of their relatives.
Writing in The Telegraph, Dame Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, claimed Sir Keir had been “bullied and forced into this by his backbench MPs, who he is now too weak to stand up to”.
She said he was “not only appeasing his backbenchers [but] also appeasing the cruel brutality of the Iran-backed Hamas terrorists”.
Foreign Office begins formal recognition process
The Foreign Office revealed it would now launch the formal process of recognising Palestine, which will upgrade the Palestinian Authority’s mission to the UK into a full embassy.
Minutes after Sir Keir’s announcement, its website updated its map of the region, changing references from “Occupied Palestinian Territories” to “Palestine”.
It remains unclear whether the UK will open its own embassy in Palestine, but on Sunday night, the French government said it would wait until after the hostages have been released before establishing a fully-fledged diplomatic corps in the country.
Yvette Cooper, the Foreign Secretary, will travel to the UN this week for a “diplomatic drive” for a Gaza ceasefire, followed by the delivery of humanitarian aid and a new government in the territory.
The Foreign Office said the recognition must be followed by governmental reform by the Palestinian Authority and the removal of Hamas from power in Gaza.
Cooper said the decision was “only one part of what must be a stronger and wider push for peace,” which requires “not just an immediate ceasefire, but a plan for a durable peace”.
Deputy PM admits limited immediate impact
However, David Lammy, the Deputy Prime Minister, admitted earlier on Sunday that the move would have little immediate impact on the war in Gaza or the hostages that remain in Hamas captivity.
“Will this feed children? No, it won’t,” he told the BBC. “That’s down to humanitarian aid.”
“Will this free hostages? That must be down to a ceasefire. But does this mean that you get or hold out for a two-state solution, and stand by that Palestinian cause being a just cause?”
Lammy also said he didn’t think Britain recognising Palestine would bring a ceasefire closer, arguing that it was “very hard to see a ceasefire in the coming weeks” because of Israel‘s strikes on Qatar, which left the prospect “in tatters”.
