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EXPERT COMMENT

The time is right to make this symbolically important move, says Bronwen Maddox, but that should not distract attention from the most urgent task of securing relief in Gaza.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will gather his cabinet this week to discuss whether the UK should recognize a Palestinian state. For all his caution, he should lead them to agreement on doing so. Recognition is a purely symbolic step, but the value of that symbol has risen. It is one of several measures the UK should take to help build international pressure on Israel to end the death, displacement and near-famine in Gaza.

The prime minister is right to observe the drawbacks of recognizing Palestine. For a start, recognition of a state can only be done once. More than 140 countries have already done so, and as critics of recognition point out, that has not brought a state into existence, although delegates are gathering at the United Nations in New York this week for a conference to discuss practical steps toward a two-state solution.

Recognition would infuriate Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already stated that ‘European countries will not influence us and they will not cause us to abandon our core objectives’. The step would also probably anger US President Donald Trump, now visiting the UK, imperilling a transatlantic trade deal that is important for UK growth.

Then there are the prime minister’s own political considerations at home. Starmer rightly made expunging anti-semitism a central part of his leadership of the Labour Party. But only a year into his premiership, his authority is already weakened. Recognition has higher stakes for him than for France’s President Emmanuel Macron – set to recognize Palestine in September – who will step down from power for good in May 2027.

Click here to continue reading the full version of this Expert Comment on the Chatham House website.