Prime Minister Keir Starmer films a broadcast interview ahead of the G7 leaders’ summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada(Alamy)
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Labour MPs are divided over whether now is the time to recognise a Palestinian state as conflict in the Middle East continues to escalate.
Israel’s recent military assault – Operation Rising Lion – on Iran’s military and political leadership has triggered a new round of conflict between the two nations.
Israeli strikes killed the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other high-ranking officials and eliminated 14 Iranian nuclear scientists. At the time of writing, a total of 224 Iranians have been killed since Friday, according to the country’s health ministry. Iran launched retaliatory strikes, targeting the Jewish state with at least 370 ballistic missiles, killing 24 people.
The conflict between the two nations comes as Israel continues its assault on Gaza as part of its war with the terrorist group Hamas.
Before the outbreak of conflict between Israel and Iran, many MPs had expected the Labour government to recognise the state of Palestine, even if it was only a symbolic act. PoliticsHome understands that Jonathan Powell, the government’s National Security Adviser, was set to meet Labour MPs in Number 10 over the issue before a United Nations conference on a Palestinian state scheduled to take place this week was postponed.
Many MPs expected the UK to recognise Palestine as a state at the summit co-sponsored by Saudi Arabia and France. French President Emmanuel Macron has been an enthusiastic backer of the approach for months.
More than 140 UN member states recognise the state of Palestine, including Spain, Norway and Ireland.
Labour’s ardently pro-Palestine MPs believe that the lion’s share of the Parliamentary Labour Party is in favour of unilaterally recognising a Palestinian state. “Dozens of MPs on all sides [have] stood up and called for recognition,” one MP told PoliticsHome. “The mood of the House was abundantly clear.”
Emily Thornberry, the Labour chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, has said it is “high time” the UK recognises a Palestinian state.
The government’s position towards Israel has significantly hardened in recent months. Last week, the UK sanctioned Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, two far-right Israeli ministers, having suspended trade negotiations with Israel over its conflict in Gaza.
However, there is a smaller group of Labour MPs who are opposed to recognising the state of Palestine, arguing that it is the wrong time and would look like rewarding Hamas for its 7 October attack on Israel, when it killed 1,200 people and abducted a further 251.
“It’s a terrible idea, it’s mental,” said one Labour MP.
Another Labour MP added: “No one has got a plan, nobody. I am slightly concerned that countries like ours have made a declaration that you’re essentially handing the baton back to Hamas.
“While I would like to see the state of Palestine recognised, it has to be at the right time, when you have trusted leaders in place.”
These MPs argue that if Israel withdrew from the West Bank, which is necessary for a Palestinian state, it could become a base for terrorist factions.
Graham Stringer, Labour MP for Blackley and Middleton South, told PoliticsHome: “I can’t think of a worse time to do it…
“Hamas don’t want a two-state solution. Hamas believes in a one-state solution and the elimination of Jews in Israel. It could be a catastrophic decision.”
Speaking before the G7 summit in Canada at the weekend, Prime Minister Keir Starmer suggested that the government was not about to unilaterally recognise the state of Palestine, telling reporters that the UK position hadn’t changed.
”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,” he said.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy told the House of Commons on Monday that the government would not stop calling for an immediate ceasefire and the release of the hostages from Gaza.
He told MPs: “Our vision remains unchanged. An end to Iran’s nuclear programme and de-stabilising regional activity. Israel secure in its borders and at peace with its neighbours. A sovereign Palestinian state as part of the two-state solution.
“Diplomacy is indispensable to all of these goals.”
