UK, Canada, Australia formally recognise Palestinian state

Dubai: Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday announced that the United Kingdom has formally recognised the state of Palestine, marking a historic shift in British foreign policy.

“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,” Starmer said in a video statement released on social media.

The Labour leader said the decision was driven by the urgent need to keep alive the possibility of peace in the Middle East as the Gaza war continues to devastate Palestinian lives.

“In the face of the growing horror in the Middle East, we are acting to keep alive the possibility of peace and of a two-state solution,” Starmer said at the start of his address.

“That means a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable Palestinian state – at the moment we have neither. The moment for recognising Palestinian statehood has now arrived.”

"Today we join over 150 countries who recognise a Palestinian state," Starmer continues as he said the move is "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," the prime minister added.

"We have seen it on our streets, in our schools and conversations we have 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."

Britain and Canada on Sunday became the first G7 nations to recognise Palestine, a decision quickly followed by Australia.

Britain’s recognition adds further momentum to a growing international wave of support for Palestinian sovereignty amid Israel’s continued offensive in Gaza.

Starmer said the recognition was not only symbolic but intended to put new energy into reviving the stalled two-state solution, long seen as the only path to a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

The UK’s decision comes as the death toll in Gaza continues to mount, with international organisations accusing Israel of disproportionate military actions. Diplomatic pressure has been building on Western powers to take concrete steps in response.

By joining Canada and Australia, Britain adds significant political weight to the campaign for Palestinian statehood, leaving the United States increasingly isolated as the only major Western power holding out against recognition.

Starmer framed the move as an affirmation of Britain’s commitment to justice and peace. “This is about keeping alive the only path to a fair and lasting peace – two peoples, two states, living side by side in security,” he said.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on the social platform X that Canada had recognised a Palestinian state.

Carney had already said in late July he would do so as many Western countries are increasingly dismayed by the intensifying war in Gaza.

The moves comes ahead of the UN General Assembly this week, where other nations, including France, are also expected to recognise a Palestinian state.

The formal recognition of Palestinian statehood by Western countries has angered Israel and the United States, which say recognition emboldens extremists and rewards Hamas, the group that led the October 7, 2023, attacks into southern Israel that triggered the war.

US President Donald Trump had previously threatened Canada, saying Canada’s announcement “will make it very hard” for the United States to reach a trade agreement with its northern neighbor.

Pressure to formally recognise Palestinian statehood has increased since French President Emmanuel Macron announced this summer that his country will become the first major Western power to do so in September.

Macron is to formally declare France’s recognition of a Palestinian state on Monday at a United Nations conference in New York co-chaired with Saudi Arabia, at the start of the UN General Assembly.

More than 145 countries already recognise a Palestinian state, including more than a dozen in Europe.

Carney has previously said Canada is working with other states “to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution, to not allow the facts on the ground, deaths on the ground, the settlements on the ground, the expropriations on the ground, to get to such an extent that this is not possible.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government rejects a two-state solution.

Canada has long supported the idea of an independent Palestinian state existing alongside Israel, but has said recognition should come as part of a negotiated two-state solution to the conflict.

Israeli bombardment over the past 23 months has killed more than 65,100 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, destroyed vast areas of the strip, displaced around 90% of the population and caused a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, with experts saying Gaza City is experiencing famine.

Forty-eight hostages remain in Gaza, with fewer than half believed to still be alive. Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 others.