The United Kingdom, Canada and Australia on Sunday announced the recognition of the Palestinian state, in the hope that a two-state solution will bring peace with Israel despite protests from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the move is intended “to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis.”
“We recognized the state of Israel more than 75 years ago as a homeland for the Jewish people,” Starmer said in a video message posted on X. “Today we join over 150 countries who recognize a Palestinian state also. A pledge to the Palestinian and Israeli people that there can be a better future.”
He insisted that the recognition of statehood was not a reward for Hamas, the terror group that carried out the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that led to some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, being killed and the abduction of another 251. Hamas is the current Palestinian governing body in the Gaza Strip.
RECOGNIZING A PALESTINIAN STATE NOW WILL COMPLICATE FUTURE PEACE EFFORTS, EXPERTS WARN
“Hamas is a brutal terror organization,” Starmer said, adding that Hamas will have “no future, no role in government, no role in security,” in a Palestinian state.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also recognized a Palestinian state, posting on X that Canada offers its “partnership in building the promise of a peaceful future for both the State of Palestine and the State of Israel.”
Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Penny Wong, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the Government in the Senate, said in a joint statement announcing its recognition of Palestinian statehood that Hamas “must have no role in Palestine.”
“Australia’s recognition of Palestine today, alongside Canada and the United Kingdom, is part of a co-ordinated international effort to build new momentum for a two-state solution, starting with a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the hostages taken in the atrocities of October 7, 2023,” the statement said.
HOSTAGE FAMILIES BLAST UK AND FRANCE FOR MOVES TO RECOGNIZE PALESTINIAN STATE
More than 145 countries already recognize a Palestinian state, including more than a dozen in Europe.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government rejects a two-state solution given the current geopolitical situation in the region, with Netanyahu saying that the countries declaring their recognition of Palestine “are rewarding terror with an enormous prize.”
“It will not happen,” Netanyahu said after the countries made their announcements. “A Palestinian state will not be established west of the Jordan River.”
Netanyahu said he would announce Israel’s response after a trip next week to the U.S., where he is to meet President Donald Trump at the White House.
Trump voiced his disapproval of the move by the U.K., Canada and Australia during a visit to Britain last week.
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.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
