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UK, Australia and Canada Recognize Palestinian State, Israel Condemns Decision
Displaced Palestinians, fleeing northern Gaza due to an Israeli military operation, move southward, using a vehicle packed with personal belongings, after Israeli forces ordered residents of Gaza City to evacuate to the south, in the central Gaza Strip, September 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Britain, Canada and Australia all recognized a Palestinian state on Sunday in a move borne out of frustration over the Gaza war and intended to promote a two-state solution, prompting a furious response from Israel.
The decision by three major Western nations, which have been traditional allies of Israel, aligned them with about 140 other countries also backing Palestinians’ aspiration to forge an independent homeland from the Israeli-occupied territories.
Britain’s decision carried particular symbolism given its major role in Israel’s creation as a modern nation in the aftermath of World War Two.
“Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two-state solution, the United Kingdom formally recognizes the State of Palestine,” said Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
“The man-made humanitarian crisis in Gaza reaches new depths. The Israeli government’s relentless and increasing bombardment of Gaza, the offensive of recent weeks, the starvation and devastation are utterly intolerable.”
Other nations, including France, are expected to follow suit this week at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the move.
“I have a clear message to those leaders who recognize a Palestinian state after the horrific massacre of October 7: You are giving a huge reward to terrorism,” he said, referring to Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’ 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the nearly two-year war in Gaza.
“And I have another message for you: It will not happen. A Palestinian state will not be established west of the Jordan River.”
The Hamas-led attack on Israel killed 1,200 people and saw 251 others taken hostage.
PALESTINIANS WELCOME RECOGNITION
“It is a human duty of every respectful and free human being in the world to support Palestinians during the ordeal they are going through and Britain’s role now comes within this,” said Sharaf Al Tarda, a Palestinian resident of Hebron in the West Bank.
Hamas welcomed the move but said it must be accompanied by “practical measures” to end the war in Gaza and prevent Israel from annexing the West Bank.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said recognition would help pave the way for the “State of Palestine to live side by side with the State of Israel in security, peace, and good neighborliness”.
Starmer wrote to Abbas to confirm Britain’s decision, noting that London had backed a Jewish homeland in 1917 while also pledging to protect the rights of non-Jewish communities.
Western governments have been under pressure from many in their parties and populations angry at the ever-rising death toll in Gaza, images of starving children and their states’ inability to rein in Israel, even continuing to provide arms.
Londoners voiced mixed reactions on Sunday.
“A whole lot needs to happen and peace needs to come to that region,” said 56-year-old charity director Michael Angus. “This is the first step in actually acknowledging that those people have a right to have somewhere to call home.”
Announcing his country’s decision, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said it would empower those seeking peaceful co-existence and the end of Hamas. “This in no way legitimizes terrorism, nor is it any reward for it,” he added.
The United States, Israel’s closest ally, did not comment immediately on the decision by three of its allies to recognize a Palestinian state, but President Donald Trump has previously made clear he opposes such a move.
Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he would propose that the cabinet apply sovereignty in the West Bank. That would represent de facto annexation of land seized in a 1967 war.
BRITAIN PLAYED A KEY HISTORIC ROLE
British troops captured Jerusalem from the Ottoman Empire in 1917, and in 1922 the League of Nations awarded Britain an international mandate to administer Palestine during the post-war deal-making that redrew the map of the Middle East.
Mandy Damari, the British mother of released British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari, told Reuters on Sunday that Starmer was “under a two-state delusion” given that the Gaza Strip’s government was still Hamas whose mission was to destroy Israel.
“He is rewarding Hamas for the 7th October barbaric and savage attack on Israel when the hostages are still not back, the war is not over and Hamas are still in power in Gaza.”
Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK, watched on his phone as Starmer announced Britain’s recognition of a Palestinian state.
At the London headquarters of the mission, which may now be upgraded to an embassy, there were smiles and embraces.
“Today is a moment when the UK Prime Minister and the British government, on behalf of their people, stand and say: ‘We must correct history, we must right the wrongs,’” Zomlot said.
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Palestinian Foreign Minister Says Recognition Brings Independence, Sovereignty Closer
Displaced Palestinians, fleeing northern Gaza due to an Israeli military operation, move southward, using a vehicle packed with personal belongings, after Israeli forces ordered residents of Gaza City to evacuate to the south, in the central Gaza Strip, September 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin said countries recognizing a Palestinian state this week were taking an irreversible step that preserved the two-state solution and brought Palestinian independence and sovereignty closer.
Britain, Canada and Australia formally recognized a Palestinian state on Sunday, joining other nations in a move aimed at reviving momentum for a two-state solution but which has been criticized by Israel and the United States.
“Now is the time. Tomorrow is a historic date we need to build on. It’s not the end,” Shahin told reporters in Ramallah.
“It is a move bringing us closer to sovereignty and independence. It might not end the war tomorrow, but it’s a move forward, which we need to build on and amplify,” she said, referring to Israel’s nearly two-year military campaign in Gaza.
NETANYAHU SAYS THERE WILL NEVER BE A PALESTINIAN STATE
Israel has sharply criticized the step, with some ministers dismissing it as irrelevant, saying it does not change the realities on the ground. Others have insisted that a Palestinian state can only be achieved through direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this month declared there would never be a Palestinian state.
Shahin said that Israel had no intention of negotiating, citing Netanyahu’s remarks at a ceremony this month to build a new settlement in the West Bank that would cut off northern Palestinian communities from those in the south.
“This recognition is certainly not symbolic. It is a practical, tangible, irreversible step that countries must take if they are invested in preserving the two-state solution,” Shahin said.
France and Saudi Arabia have led efforts to revive momentum for the two-state solution, with several countries to recognize a Palestinian state this week at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has dismissed the efforts as a stunt and counterproductive. Israeli officials have hardened their positions on settlement construction and West Bank annexation as international momentum for Palestinian statehood has grown.
Israel has faced growing diplomatic isolation this year, as many of its closest allies, with the exception of the US, have condemned its assault on Gaza. Some have sanctioned Israeli ministers for inciting violence against Palestinians.
Shahin said political pressure on Israel must shift to economic measures “to hold Israel accountable and protect the Palestinian people.”
“Today, Gaza burns. Today, Gaza is destroyed. Today in Gaza, people are systematically murdered,” Shahin said, accusing Israel of perpetrating genocide in Gaza, an allegation Israel denies.
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Israel Making Progress on Syria Pact But Deal Still Far Off, Netanyahu Says
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the opening event of the largest-ever bipartisan delegation of American legislators to Israel at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem on Sept. 15, 2025. Photo: Debbie Hill/Pool via REUTERS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday there has been progress on a security deal with Syria but an agreement was not imminent.
Speaking at the outset of a cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said victory against Hezbollah in Lebanon had opened up the possibility of peace with Israel’s northern neighbors.
“We are holding talks with the Syrians, there is some progress, but there was still a ways to go,” he said. “In any case these discussions, as well as the contacts with Lebanon, would not have been possible without our decisive victories on the northern front and others.”
Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Wednesday that ongoing negotiations with Israel to reach a security pact could lead to results “in the coming days.”
He said a security pact was a “necessity” and that it would need to respect Syria’s airspace and territorial unity and be monitored by the United Nations.
Syria and Israel are in talks to reach an agreement that Damascus hopes will secure a halt to Israeli airstrikes and the withdrawal of Israeli troops who have pushed into southern Syria.
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Erdogan Says Palestine, US Ties and Syria Talks on Agenda in US Trip
Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (not seen) at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, May 13, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday he will raise the subject of Israel’s “massacres” in Gaza at the U.N. General Assembly and voiced hope that wider recognition of Palestine would speed efforts for a two-state solution.
Speaking to reporters before departing for New York, Erdogan said he would discuss cooperation on trade and the defense industry with US President Donald Trump, and that he would also meet Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa during his trip.