Keir Starmer has resisted calls for the UK government to move to a position of immediately recognising a Palestinian state, despite coming under increasing pressure from MPs and the trade unions to do so.
Asked by journalists as he flew out to Canada for the G7 summit if the UK would be moving to backing Palestine’s statehood, the Prime Minister said:”Our position on recognition of Palestine as part of the process hasn’t changed for us. I hold very strongly to the belief that the only long-term solution to the conflict in the Middle East is a two-state solution.
“However hard that may seem at the moment in the current circumstances, that is the only way to peace. So that continues to be our position.”
A United Nations conference on reviving the two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians had been scheduled for later this week, but it has now been cancelled following the conflict with Iran.
Keir Starmer meets with Palestinian PM in Downing St
French President Emmanuel Macron had hoped a conference, attended also by the UK and Saudi Arabia, would spark new moves towards formal recognition of Palestine as part of an attempt to kickstart a peace process.
At one stage there appeared to be the possibility of all three countries announcing formal recognition.
The Labour MP Jon Pearce, chair of the Labour Friends of Israel organisation, has been among those to push back on the move alongside a number of cabinet allies, including the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, and the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden.
Pearce told The Independent newspaper: “Given the all-too-evident threat posed by Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missiles programmes, and its support for terrorism and proxy armies, not just to Israel and the region but to our own national security, it is vital that the UK maintains its diplomatic influence and credibility with our allies.
“Last year, Ireland, Spain and Norway unilaterally recognised a Palestinian state, but it changed nothing on the ground. If Britain were to follow this course, we would inevitably damage our reputation as an impartial broker and reduce our ability to have an impact.”
LFI parliamentary chair Jon Pearce
The TUC and its French and Canadian union umbrella bodies have issued a new statement demanding their governments recognise Palestine as a state immediately,
A growing number of Tory MPs, including former minister Kit Malthouse, have also attempted to pressure the PM to support Palestinian recognition. The Green Party and SNP have also long supported the policy.
