…UK, Canada, Australia recognise state

…There’ll be no Palestinian state, Netanyahu vows

…Badenoch slams UK’s recognition of Palestine

By Nkiruka Nnorom, with agency report

THE UK government and its Canadian and Australian counterparts, yesterday, announced formal recognition of the state of Palestine in keeping with their earlier threat to make the declaration, if Israeli government failed to take steps to resolve the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza strip and commit to a long-term peace process that would lead to a Palestinian state co-existing alongside Israel.

Portugal is expected to follow suit.

But Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in a swift reaction, said there would be no Palestinian state, in a message addressed to the leaders of Britain, Australia and Canada.

This is even as UK’s Conservative Party Leader, Kemi Badenoch, fiercely criticised Sir Starmer’s decision to formally recognise the State of Palestine, describing it as “absolutely disastrous” and a move that rewards terrorism without addressing the plight of hostages in Gaza or the suffering of civilians caught in the conflict.

However, the recognition yesterday followed the formal declaration of famine in Gaza by the United Nations and global outcry over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

With the recognition by the trio, about 75 per cent of 193 member states of the United Nations have now recognised the state of Palestine, thereby giving room to the two-state solution proposed by the UN.

In a post on X, UK’s PM, Keir Starmer, said: “In the face of the growing horror in the Middle East, we are acting to keep alive the possibility of peace and a two-state solution.”

The decision has drawn fierce criticism from the Israeli government, families of hostages held in Gaza and some Conservatives.

Sir Keir insisted that the decision “is not a reward for Hamas” because it means Hamas could have “no future, no role in government, no role in security.

‘’ Our call for a genuine two-state solution is the exact opposite of [Hamas’s] hateful vision. The move is a pledge to the Palestinian and Israeli people that there can be a better future.”

He said the “starvation and devastation [in Gaza] are utterly intolerable,” adding that ‘’the death and destruction horrifies all of us.”

Successive UK governments have previously said recognition should come as part of a peace process and at a time of maximum impact.

There’ll be no Palestinian state, Netanyahu tells Western leaders

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said there would be no Palestinian state, in a message addressed to the leaders of Britain, Australia and Canada after they recognised Palestinian statehood.

He said: “I have a clear message for those leaders who recognise a Palestinian state after the horrific massacre on October 7: you are granting a huge reward to terror.

“I have another message for you: it will not happen. No Palestinian state will be established west of the Jordan River. Recognition will endanger our existence and serve as absurd reward for terrorism.’’

Both the Israeli and US governments said recognition was a diplomatic gift for Hamas, following its attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.

Badenoch slams UK recognition of Palestine

Meanwhile, UK’s Conservative Party Leader, Kemi Badenoch, has fiercely criticised Sir Starmer’s decision to formally recognise the State of Palestine, describing it as “absolutely disastrous” and a move that rewards terrorism without addressing the plight of hostages in Gaza or the suffering of civilians caught in the conflict.

In a post on her X platform yesterday, Badenoch, MP for North West Essex, accused Starmer of lacking a coherent plan for the country and instead pandering to “the hobby horses of the Labour left” to maintain power.

“Rewarding terrorism with no conditions whatsoever put in place for Hamas leaves hostages languishing in Gaza and does nothing to stop the suffering of innocent people caught in this war,” Badenoch wrote.

She further argued that Labour’s recognition of Palestine was part of a broader pattern of misplaced priorities, adding:

“They cannot fix the NHS, so they push assisted suicide. They cannot create jobs for young people, so they give them votes at 16. They cannot sort out immigration, but they will recognise Palestine instead.”

Badenoch also criticised Starmer’s record on foreign affairs, recalling the payment of £35bn in reparations to Mauritius and the surrender of the Chagos Islands, which she framed as evidence of poor judgement.

“Everything we are seeing is a consequence of a Prime Minister who has no plan for the country and no judgement,” she said. “He will spend the next four years delivering the hobby horses of the Labour left to stay in power and leave a huge mess for us to clean up.”

Starmer, MP for Holborn and St Pancras, had earlier announced that the UK’s recognition of Palestine was aimed at reviving “the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two-state solution.”

However, ministers argued there was a moral responsibility to keep hopes of a long-term peace alive.

Efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, let alone a long-term solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, have faltered.

Israel sparked international outrage when it recently carried out an air strike on a Hamas negotiating team in Qatar.

Government sources said the situation on ground had worsened significantly in the last few weeks, citing images showing starvation and violence in Gaza that Sir Keir previously described as “intolerable”.

Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said yesterday that 71 people were killed and 304 injured in Israeli attacks in the past 24 hours.

Israel’s latest ground operation in Gaza City, described by a UN official as “cataclysmic”, has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee.

In West Bank, Palestinian recognition welcomed despite fears of Israeli annexation.

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