Britain to Recognise Palestinian State Today

Britain will formally recognise a Palestinian state today, according to UK media reports, in a landmark policy change vehemently opposed by longtime ally Israel.

The United Kingdom has historically been a staunch supporter of Israel but has shifted position as Israel has intensified the Gaza offensive triggered by Hamas's unprecedented 2023 attack.

The small Palestinian territory has since suffered vast destruction, death and lack of food that have resulted in a major humanitarian crisis.

Keir Starmer said in July that Britain would formally recognise the State of Palestine if Israel did not take "substantive steps" towards a ceasefire with Hamas by the time the UN General Assembly convenes in September.

He will announce that recognition on Sunday, multiple British media outlets, including the BBC and the Press Association, reported.

Starmer said in July that the move would make "a contribution to a proper peace process, at the moment of maximum impact for the two-state solution".

In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused him of rewarding "monstrous terrorism" and appeasing "jihadist" ideology.

The prospective announcement comes ahead of a UN General Assembly where around 10 other countries, including Britain's G7 partner France, are also set to recognise a Palestinian state.

It also arrives as Israel presses ahead with its new offensive to capture Gaza City, the territory's largest urban centre, where the United Nations has declared a famine.

Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which sparked the war, resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 65,208 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the Gazan health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.