In full: Statement announcing UK's recognition of Palestinian state

The UK has officially recognised a Palestinian state. Here's Sir Keir Starmer's announcement in full.

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.

That means a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable Palestinian state. At the moment, we have neither. 


Ordinary people, Israeli and Palestinian, deserve to live in peace, to try to rebuild their lives free from violence and suffering.

That's what the British people desperately want to see. Yet almost two years after the barbaric attacks of 7 October, hostages are still held by the terrorists of Hamas.

Recent images show the hostages suffering and emaciated. Hamas even refused to release all the bodies of the dead.

I have met British families of the hostages. I see the torture that they endure each and every day.

Pain that strikes deep in people's hearts across Israel and here in the United Kingdom.

The hostages must be released immediately, and we will keep fighting to bring them home. 


Let's be frank. Hamas is a brutal terror organisation.

A call for a genuine two-state solution is the exact opposite of their hateful vision.

So, 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.

Now we have already proscribed and sanctioned Hamas, and we will go further. I have directed work to sanction other Hamas figures in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, the man-made humanitarian crisis in Gaza reaches new depths.

The Israeli government's relentless and increasing bombardment of Gaza, the offensive of recent weeks, the starvation, and devastation, are utterly intolerable.

Tens of thousands have been killed, including thousands as they tried to collect food and water.

This death and destruction horrifies all of us. It must end.

We have evacuated the first group of sick and injured children to the United Kingdom to be treated by the NHS.

And we continue to increase our humanitarian support.

But still, nowhere near enough aid is getting through. We call again on the Israeli government to lift the unacceptable restrictions of the border, stop these cruel tactics, and let the aid surge in. 


With the actions of Hamas, the Israeli government escalating a 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.

That is why we are building consensus with leaders in the region and beyond, around our framework for peace.

This is a practical plan to bring people together behind a common vision at a series of steps, including the reform of the Palestinian authority that takes us from a ceasefire in Gaza to negotiations on a two-state solution.

We will keep driving this forward.

As part of this effort, I set out in July the terms upon which we would act in line with our manifesto to recognise Palestinian statehood. 


That moment has now arrived.

So today, to revive the hope of peace and a two state solution, I state clearly as Prime Minister of this great country that the United Kingdom formally recognises the state of Palestine. 


We recognise the state of Israel more than 75 years ago, as a homeland for the Jewish people.

Today, we join over 150 countries who recognise a Palestinian state also, a pledge to the Palestinian and Israeli people that there can be a better future.

I know the strength of feeling that this conflict provokes. We have seen it on our streets, in our schools, in conversations we've had with friends and family.

It has created division. Some have used it to stoke hatred and fear, but that solves nothing.

Not only must we reject hate, we must redouble our efforts to combat hatred in all its forms.

We must channel our efforts, united together in hope, behind the peaceful future that we want to see.

The release of the hostages, an end to the violence, an end to the suffering, and they shift back towards a two-state solution as the best hope for peace and security for all sides.

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