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UK Signs Memorandum of Understanding With Palestinian Authority to Advance Two-State Solution
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Palestinian Authority’s Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa signed a Memorandum of Understanding in London, April 28, 2025. Photo: Screenshot
The United Kingdom signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Palestinian Authority (PA) on Monday to advance “Palestinian statehood” as part of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy hosted the PA’s Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa in London, marking the first official visit by a PA leader to the UK since 2021.
“This visit marks a significant step in strengthening our relationship with the Palestinian Authority — a key partner for peace,” Lammy said, emphasizing that Britain is dedicated to recognizing a “Palestinian state at a time that will have the greatest impact.”
The MoU reiterates the British government’s recognition of the PA as the sole legitimate governing power in the “Occupied Palestinian Territories,” rejecting any role for the terrorist group Hamas — which violently eliminated its Palestinian opposition in a brief conflict in 2007, taking full control of Gaza after winning legislative elections the prior year. It also underscores the importance of reunifying Gaza and the west Bank under PA control.
“The UK will continue to press for a return to the ceasefire and a return of humanitarian aid into Gaza,” Starmer wrote in a post on X.
“We are committed to a two-state solution, with lasting peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike,” Lammy added.
The British government also announced a £101 million ($135 million) aid package intended to provide humanitarian relief, stimulate economic development, and strengthen governance reforms in Gaza and the West Bank.
The UK designated Hamas as a terrorist organization in 2021, expanding its previous designation of only the group’s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, to include its political entities, arguing that Hamas operates as a unified organization rather than separate branches.
Last week, Hamas announced it is challenging its designation through a legal petition seeking to be removed from the country’s list of proscribed terrorist groups.
The MoU comes amid international concerns about the PA’s ability to govern the war-torn enclave during reconstruction efforts, with leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron calling for reforms to boost the PA’s credibility.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas has previously called on Hamas to release the Israeli hostages held in Gaza, cede control of the war-torn enclave, and give up its arms. However, Hamas has previously rejected calls to disarm — a key condition in ceasefire negotiations with Israel and the United States.
The PA has attempted to publicly separate itself from Hamas while simultaneously pursuing Palestinian reconciliation talks. However, PA officials have regularly rationalized Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, in some cases even denying it took place or falsely claiming Israeli forces carried out the onslaught that started the Gaza war.
The PA, which has been riddled with accusations of corruption, has also long maintained a so-called “pay-for-slay” program, which rewards terrorists and their families for carrying out attacks against Israelis, leading critics to question whether the PA can effectively govern Gaza.
Earlier this month, Macron said that France could recognize a Palestinian state at a United Nations conference in June, prompting criticism from Israeli officials and French Jewish leaders, who stated that such a move would only reward terrorism.
Last year, Spain, Norway, Ireland, and Slovenia recognized a Palestinian state, claiming that this approach would contribute to fostering a two-state solution and promote lasting peace in the region. At the time, Israel condemned the decision as an “incitement to genocide” against the Jewish people.
Out of the 27 European Union member states, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Sweden have also recognized a Palestinian state.
The post UK Signs Memorandum of Understanding With Palestinian Authority to Advance Two-State Solution first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.