Public sentiment regarding the UK's conditional recognition of Palestinian statehood is largely negative, with widespread criticism directed at the perceived hypocrisy and political maneuvering of Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Many commenters argue that the conditions attached undermine Palestinian rights and question the sincerity of the UK's intentions. There is a strong call for immediate and unconditional recognition of Palestine, reflecting frustration with the delay in addressing humanitarian concerns and concerns regarding the implications of aligning with groups perceived as terrorist organizations.

UK Government

Keir Starmer

Starmer and his new government do not represent workers interests and are in fact enemies of our class. It's past time we begin organising a substantial left-wing movement in this country again. 

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Surely a statement that you would recognise Palestine in the future, without stipulation of Palestine itself changing in anyway (other than to stop being bombed) is a recognition that Palestine has the necessary requirements to be recognised now, and therefore this is a recognition?

Kanaima85

Until we stop selling Israel weapons and using drones to perform reconnaissance for them, we are simply paying lip service to the starving people of Gaza.

xydus

Not for a split second. It’s very much call a ceasefire Bibi or we’ll recognise Palestine to piss you right off. 

I share your feelings of shame, and very justified anger.

s0ulcontr0l

Look at how Macron framed acknowledging a Palestinian state, I'm betting this will be similar.

ByYourLeaveUK

Keith is trying to get ahead of his corruption and war crimes facilitation- he is aware that there is overwhelming evidence if he is ever brought to trial, so he is now trying to look like the good guy- while still sending WMD parts and arresting peaceful protesting UK citizens.

bomboclawt75

Illustrious-Chef-498

Does anyone believe *anything* that comes out of Keith’s mouth? There’s more chance of Hell freezing over than Vichy Labour recognising a Palestinian state.

Electric_Death_1349

Recognition was in their manifesto and now it's just used as a bargaining chip? Fuck that, Palestine and Palestinians deserve full agency, where their freedom is not conditional on the actions of their oppressor. Recognise Palestine and unrecognise the illegitimate terrorist state.

Bolvaettur

Maybe I’m wrong but all it is to me is Labour covering their own arse on record now it’s becoming increasingly clear that the masses don’t want what’s happening in Gaza. They were happy to stand by and watch it unfold until now, but now they’re at a point where they really need to make sure they’re seen as being on the right side of history. 

The fact this has taken months and months of slaughter of innocent children for them to finally vulture signal like this is sickening.

cljames98

Ideally there'd be a singular state where everyone lives together in harmony. On assumption that's not going to happen, nor is lsraeI going to be dissolved as a state, the only vaguely reasonable thing is to be absolutely serious and proactive about enforcing a 2-state solution. The US/EU/UK ought to at the very least just reset the borders to 1947 (or at worst, 1949) - [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-54116567](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-54116567) , and then have international peacekeeping troops stationed there (the entirety of the 2 countries is about as big as Wales), and have lsraeI massively disarm and downscale its massive military.

Jean_Genet

In another month...   If there's anything left...

designerwookie

Funny how recognition of Palestine is used as a threat against Israel. Hasn’t Israel wanted a two state solution all this time?

HarryShake

Framing the Palestinian state explicitly as a punishment to Israel doesn’t really seem like something that promotes peace. Honestly not sure what it’s supposed to accomplish.

rube_X_cube

That was easy, they already have agreed to a ceasefire. Hamas has refused. Crisis averted.

Lpreddit

Release the hostages.. or else you're holding peace hostage by perpetuating the problem..

clockworkrockwork

And what's frustrating is Hamas isn't asking for recognition -- they want Israel to be gone. So why recognise a state that have declined multiple times to be recognised because Israel still exists?

LadySlippersAndLoons

What about the hostages and recognizing that Hamas is the true threat to peace in this situation? It’s like these people wanna blame Israel for everything and talk about peace while putting a leash on Israel while ignoring who orchestrated, murdered, and kidnapped people on Oct. 7th and because of them is why this war began in the first place

sal_bat

It's meaningless. I'm not happy about it, I've already written to my MP to express my disapproval but realistically it's a completely empty statement. What does recognition do, exactly? Unless there's a Palestinian leader that's finally willing to come to the table with a real peace proposal to create a 2SS a Palestinian state does not exist. Starmer could announce that the UK gov formally recognises the tooth fairy but that won't make her real.

Mist_Wraith

Just curious what are the borders of this state and who are the leaders?   Maybe the new state should be an area in Britain and France.

samtony234

Is this satire? Israel agreed to a ceasefire, Hamas rejected the terms, even Qatar said Hamas wasn't acting in good faith. 

UK is so dismal.

Ok_Ambassador9091

"Keir Starmer says Israel must commit to long-term peace" no mention that the last ceasefire and the one before that etc were broken by Hamas, not Israel


Edit: they do have demands for Hamas, but man does that article bury that part. Not to mention the offer of statehood does nothing to encourage them to agree to a ceasefire. They're basically incentivizing Hamas to reject any ceasefire

NotQuiteJasmine

Way to disincentivize Hamas participating in a ceasefire.

EnsignNogIsMyCat

TopSecretAlternateID

These power moves by these countries don't actually seem to me to be the flex that they clearly want it to be. 

Recognizing Palestine as a sovereign state reaffirms the two-state framework, reinforces Israel’s own state legitimacy and borders, and holds Palestinian leadership accountable under international law. Once Palestine is recognized as a state, its actions are no longer seen as the grievances of a displaced population but as the formal decisions of a government subject to international norms, treaties, and consequences. This shifts the narrative from one of occupation and resistance to one of mutual state responsibility, potentially deterring violence and strengthening diplomatic pathways. In contrast, continued non-recognition keeps Palestine in a liminal status where militant factions can act without clear accountability, and Israel is left navigating perpetual ambiguity without a recognized partner in peace or conflict. Which is like, pretty much the reason that Palestine keeps refusing these things. Like, cool recognize palestine, and then admit that every single time they shoot rockets at Israel it's an act of War.

SabichSabich

I'm assuming he means ending the war ceasefire, and not a partial one, which has no option of happening with all the recent wins Hamas is getting from western powers. Europe and western democracies show exactly how susceptible the west is to years after years of political propaganda and division sowing. Push Israel away enough and it won't be there when the west inevitably gets attacked. 

Oh, and this will do nothing to actually get to a 2 state solution - Palestinians will not give an inch with getting universally recognized for nothing, and Israelis will not evict 700,000 people from the green line and agree to give Israeli citizenship to all Palestinian refugee decedents who will outvote the Jews.

lightmaker918

When will they understand that putting pressure on Hamas to release the hostages is the only way to end the war , not to threaten Israel. 

IsraeliWeeb

Am I missing something? Didnt israel already agree to the last ceasefire? Hamas were supposed to release all the hostages. They didn’t. Does the UK want to draft up a new proposal that Israel gets nothing this time

TheMTM45

What about the hostages in Gaza? Hamas does not want ceasefire in the first place. Israel choice is to keep fighting. One sided ceasefire is not peace.

MrGeek89

Hamas is the one who broke the terms, like they've broken every other ceasefire that's been negotiated.  I am beating my head into the *wall* with how asinine people are being about this.  Every other country is allowed to defend themselves when they're attacked, but Israel isn't allowed to?  Ridiculous.

From a legal standpoint, too (and correct me if I'm wrong), this just reads as another attempt at blustering by the UK and France.  Palestine is already *de jure* a state, in theory.  The UK stomping its feet isn't going to make it *de facto* a state, since it's still missing criteria.

cheydinhals

All this does is give Hamas more incentive to hold out on any ceasefire deal they’re given

EasyMode556

Unless Israel agrees to every ridiculous demand from a terrorist organization. 

Wild

TheGreatSquirrel

How many times have they rejected a Palestinian state? They don't want their own state, they want the whole of Israel. 

Suitable_Vehicle9960

The same gov that proposed to lower voting age to 16? Smartass moves I see. 

Edit: misspelling, my phone autocorrection live its own life

[deleted]

Correct-Effective289

Another proof no one actually cares about the Palestinians .

isaacF85

You better bloody eat your broccoli jack or I'll recognize your brother as my favorite and he'll get all the cake and EAT IT TOO .. 😜🙄🙄

himalayanhimachal

Israel needs to commit to peace? Where has he been for the last 100 years?! 

Israel has said “let’s make a deal” over and over 
Other side says “how bout we kill you instead?” 

We truly live in the upside down

ChinaRider73-74

I’m honest surprised that they didn’t support Hamas’ bid to remove themselves from the terrorist registry.

YaakovBenZvi

"We will recognize a Palestine state unless Israel will judge to death their last 50 hostages and will agree for an Oct 7 to happen to them again and again"

OmegaLink9

What does the UK recognizing Palestine as a state accomplish exactly? So they can rename it Mandatory Palestine again?

TemporaryArm6419

I hope Israel continues to reject British colonialism.

The3DBanker

I don’t understand how Gaza and the West Bank are going to comprise one state when the two provinces are in a civil war. Who gets recognized, I guess the PA?

the-mp

I'm sorry, but this is so funny. Like, ok? Recognize it as a state? Like I'm sure that does matter in some political way, but it's just such weak ass energy. Like, "you better let me get my way or I'm taking my ball home" type shit. Like who the fuck cares about the UN declaring Palestine a state when there's a fucking war going on.

Anxious-Chemistry-6

As a Brit I can only apologise. We all hate him and hopefully reform will take over at the next election

glasgowgurl28

How would the UK react if Israel decided to unilaterally recognize the State of Northern Ireland?

orwelliancan

Remarkable. Starmer managed to perform the single most useless action possible in the situation.

ScruffleKun

What exactly are they recognizing though. I nation isn’t an idea — it has borders and imports and exports and citizens. How can there be a Palestine if the borders aren’t solidified.

Interesting_Claim414

From what I can tell, it also hinges on Hamas agreeing to free hostages, disarming and relinquishing all claims on governing.


"The UK government’s statement also reiterates its demands for Hamas to immediately release all the hostages, sign up to an immediate ceasefire with Israel, commit to disarmament and accept it will play no part in the government of Gaza.

Starmer will assess the extent to which the two parties – Israel and Hamas – have met his conditions in September."



Source: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jul/29/uk-to-palestine-mean

Curious-Hope-9544

Well, UK helped creating the problem in the first place, so...

Traditional-Sample23

So either submit to declared annihilation or we’ll give them a state. Not much difference there. 

No-Throat9567

It’s the most ridiculous act and statement. 
1. It rewards the terrorists 2. It does nothing to promote peace 3. Israel as an ally in security/healthcare/defence/ etc will likely now back off 4. It tells the world that you can support a genocidal group and expect to be applauded. I actually can’t stand him or this ridiculous government (I’m from the UK and didn’t vote for him).

AnythingTruffle

AdVivid8910

So basically now Hamas has no incentive to agree to a ceasefire

sabrinajestar

You could post the [whole article](https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/uk-recognize-palestinian-state-ceasefire-1.7596361) instead of a screenshot.

“Starmer also repeated U.K. demands that Hamas release all the hostages it holds, agree to a ceasefire, disarm and ‘accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza.’”

I agree it’s rewarding the Palestinians for Oct. 7 but your argument is disingenuous. Starmer outlined the requirements for Hamas.

natankman

The context is that the Labour Party has around 20% support in the polls, is dependent on Muslim voters, and that there is a new mainly Muslim party forming. Starmer feels he needs to appease the base. He also waited until Trump had left the country.

This takes place against a background of growing public fury over the industrial scale r*pe of white girls by Muslim (mainly Pakistani origin) men.

SephardicGenealogy

What do you expect?

Britain is becoming part of the Caliphate.

Remarkable_Brief_368

I fucking hate this country so much, I am completely overwhelmed. Fuck Labour, Starmer is such a coward.

sunny-beans

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Israel agreed to ceasefire. Hamas did not. Is and Israel left negotiations last because Hamas was not serious about ceasefire.

Sawit567

The majority of Palestinians don't want a state in the West Bank and Gaza though... this is a useless thing to do.

justme9974

UK can recognize a Palestinian state all they want. there is no unified leadership, not sure who they're going to negotiate with when they do the normal state to state stuff 🤣🤣🤣

Ifawumi

Does Hamas get criticized?? Just blame Israel , nothing new . England hasn’t been so good to us through history

HistoricalAd5761

licornette_

most famous baby boy name in uk: mohammed.

fxo3356

matityahudavid

I don't understand. Why is no one threatening the people who are actually refusing a ceasefire agreement?

absnthfairy

I'm all for recognition, but damn is it counterproductive to make it conditional like this as an attack against Israel rather than due to a serious recognition of Palestine.

BetPretty8953

UK recognizes Palestine &gt; Israel formally declares war on the state of Palestine after the next rocket launch.

UK: Surprised\_Pikachu.gif

DiscussionSpider

They’re literally trying to stop starvation. What’s wrong with that?

theeulessbusta

It’s a reaction to how Israel is prosecuting the war.  It’s not just a UK reaction either, …France, Germany, the US, Australia, and Canada( Among others) are all fed up with Netanyahu.

Redsoulsters

You can't publish news without AI generated pics now ?

TallFriend275

Does this mean Russia will have to provide aid to Ukraine?

DragonBunny23

Hamas must immediately release all the hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, disarm and accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza.

Israeli government must take substantive steps to end aid problem and this includes allowing the UN to restart the supply of aid, no annexations in the West Bank, agree to a ceasefire and commit to a long-term, sustainable peace, reviving the prospect of a Two State Solution.

Ok-Source6533

Yeah good and all, but Keir Starmer is destroying his own country at the moment.

Black Mirror is the new 1984 for England.

MrtyMcflyer

So we're going to recognise a pluralistic liberal democracy? Thought not. The Lsbour left have got Starmer squirming. He has no guts.

Firstpoet

What we will do to buy Angela Raynor some votes

dja1000

OrangePuzzleheaded52

Opportunity for lasting peace is long, long gone

Still-Tour3644

cowards politicians!!! all for vote bank 

flood with immigrants and destroy culture all for what? vote &amp; politics.

zOop_Bubz

Ok_Percentage_7723

I mean this means nothing, and why wait till September? And why would they not recognise the state regardless of what Israel does? It's trying to show they're doing something about the genocide without actually doing anything..

beheading_ghost

UK: “if Israel agrees to a bad deal with Hamas, Hamas wins, if Israel won’t agree to that - we will reward Hamas with recognizing a Palestinian state so Hamas wins”.

WTH? Are you stupid, or are you only making yourself look like one?

Demanding a ceasefire which Hamas is the one who insists on rejecting and demanding all the time better deals for themselves, or you reward them with a state is crazy.

It’s absolutely crazy, it’s a win win situation for the fucking terrorists you idiot. Are you that dense?

Even if you think that they should recognize as close as possible - any responsible human reading this will think that they should out the pressure on Hamas, for example “we will recognize a Palestinian state when Hamas will disarm themselves”. Putting pressure on the nation that defends itself from terrorists and actually does strive for a ceasefire, and not on the terrorists who all the time demand more and aren’t negotiating in good faith, is absolutely crazy

TimTom8321

PlasticGift5406

Neither side will be happy. Palestine doesn’t want Israel to exist

v2marshall

no he isnt - he has threatend israel to stop or else i will.. this kind of bs logic .. from human rights lawyer..

shez19833

kewkkid

Keep recognizing... Just like thoughts and prayers

dhakkichiki

I wonder what this means tho? I assume we will recognise the PA?

Boiling_warm

MechanicalAltTab

I'm gonna have to agree with Benny on this one. i am ashamed to live in UK. france is basically africa/palestine already

hara90

Maybe they can start by stop financing Israel and stop being a schizophrenic

CorleoneSolide

Uh-huh, and who's gonna be in charge of such a state? 'Cause the PLO is a terrorist organization that not even West Bank Palestinians like for being so corrupt, and Hamas is... Well, Hamas.


How can we be sure that they won't just *reject* the offer of statehood yet again?

CamisaMalva

MetaKnight1248

Republicans from the United States and their far-right allies around the world have committed genocide against the Palestinians. They do this to accuse the democratic public of inaction and blackmail it. In this way, they want to weaken international democracy and strengthen the influence of their supporters. Their goal is to suppress democratic movements, destroy democracy worldwide, seize power and install authoritarian regimes. They persecute freedom-loving and talented people with democratic views, trying to drive them crazy, put psychological pressure on them and drive them to suicide.

Icy-Squirrel6422

So happy we have a prime minister who is willing to use peoples rights and freedom as a bargaining tool for his own personal gain.

"I'll recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel fulfill specific conditions and pay me"

Spinxington

Where? What are the borders it will recognise? Will it then sanction Israel as much ad it has Russia? Why not? Occupied land, ethnic cleansing, bombing....its similar. In fact u could make a very good case foe saying that...Israel cares even less for civilian deaths than even Russia does.

Do whats the point of this?

It's the coalition of the willing all over again.

Mouth breathers and idiots will lap it up...but its meaningless nonsense without mlre detail

bluecheese2040

Long-Firefighter5561

A word from a zionist is worth nothing (Starmer has jewish wife and kids)

Also he bought dystopian laws to collect facial scans just like his zionist masters

Admirable_Peach_3770

Kier doing his best to become a one termer

Potential-Analysis-4

The UK plans to recognize a Palestinian state contingent upon Israel's commitment to ceasefire and humanitarian reforms.

UK Recognition of Palestinian Statehood

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