UK will recognize Palestine in this parliament: Minister

LONDON

The UK will recognize the state of Palestine before the next general election in 2029, a government minister said Monday.

Speaking to Sky News, Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said ministers want to and will recognize a Palestinian state.

Asked whether the recognition would come in this parliament, Reynolds said: "In this parliament, yes. I mean, if it delivers the breakthrough that we need."

"But don't forget, we can only do this once. If we do it in a way which is tokenistic, doesn't produce the end to this conflict, where do we go to next?” he added.

Turning to the crippling situation in the Gaza Strip, he said "the point about the airdrops is that we cannot wait -- we've got to do something."

"We can all see the lapse in humanity on display."

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been under pressure from some senior members of the government to immediately recognize a Palestinian state, according to reports.

Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee recently also called on the government to immediately recognize Palestinian statehood “boldly and bravely" in its preparations with allies for a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians.

Emily Thornberry, the committee chair, said in a statement that there is "huge frustration among many of the British public that the government has consistently acted too little, too late."

In another sign of pressure on Starmer, more than 200 MPs signed a cross-party letter calling on him to recognize Palestinian statehood.

The Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing nearly 60,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.