Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that “there will be no Palestinian state.”
The UK, Canada, and Australia have announced their formal recognition of a Palestinian state.
UK PM Keir Starmer said the move keeps “alive the possibility of peace” and that the UK will “keep fighting to bring” home Israeli hostages.
Starmer explained that recognition of a Palestinian state was needed to “revive the hope of peace and a two-state solution” – but stressed that this was not a reward for Hamas.
Netanyahu, while reacting to the announcements, said it amounts to “giving a huge reward to terrorism.”
According to a report by the BBC, families of those still being held in Gaza express concern – in an open letter to Starmer, they say recognition “complicates efforts to bring home our loved ones.”
More countries are expected to follow suit in recognising the Palestinian state this week when leaders gather at the UN General Assembly in New York.
Meanwhile, Hamas, designated by the UK and many other nations as a terrorist organisation, has welcomed the news that the UK, Canada, and Australia have all formally recognised a Palestinian state.
The armed group and political movement in Gaza said in a statement that “This recognition is an important step in affirming the right of our Palestinian people to their land and holy sites, and to establish their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.”
Hamas, however, added that the move “must be accompanied by practical measures” that would lead to an “immediate end” to the war in Gaza and “confront” settlement plans in the West Bank.
It also called on the international community and the UN to “cease all forms of co-operation and coordination” with Israel.
