Downing Street declined to say whether Britain would recognise Palestine with Hamas still in power after the militant group reportedly described statehood as “one of the fruits of October 7”.
Number 10 also refused to be drawn on whether the release of all Israeli hostages was a condition for recognition, but insisted they must be freed “unconditionally and immediately”.
Concerns have been raised over the UK’s plans to recognise a Palestinian state after Hamas member Ghazi Hamad appeared to claim the “fruits” of October 7 had caused the world to “open its eyes to the Palestinian issue”.
Asked on Monday whether formalising the move without a ceasefire could embolden Hamas to hold onto Israeli captives, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said the Government would assess the situation in September.
“The Prime Minister has been absolutely clear that, on October 7, Hamas perpetrated the worst massacre in Israel’s history,” he said.
“Every day since then that horror has continued… as the Foreign Secretary said over the weekend, Hamas are rightly pariahs who can have no role in Gaza’s future.”
Asked whether a Palestinian state could be recognised while Hamas are still holding hostages, the spokesman said that “we’ll make an assessment ahead of the UN General Assembly on how far the parties have met the steps that we’ve set out”.
“We’ve been very clear that Hamas can have no role in the future governments of Gaza… We’ve also been clear that they must disarm, must release all the hostages.
On whether the step could be taken while Hamas remain in power, the official said the Government was clear that “Hamas are not the Palestinian people”.
“It is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to have recognition along the lines and the steps that we’ve previously set out,” he said.
“We’ve also been very clear it cannot be in the hands of Hamas, a terrorist group, to have a veto over recognition of Palestine.”
Videos released by militant groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad last week appeared to show Israeli hostages in a visibly fragile state.
Number 10 condemned the images as “completely abhorrent”.
Meanwhile, Mr Hamad reportedly told the Al Jazeera news outlet: “The initiative by several countries to recognise a Palestinian state is one of the fruits of October 7.”
About 1,200 people were killed by Hamas militants in the 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war and another 251 were abducted.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed more than 60,800 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, but its figures are seen by the UN and other independent experts as the most reliable count of casualties.
The UK and Jordan have been working together to air drop aid amid warnings of widespread malnourishment in Gaza.
It comes as Britain seeks to put pressure on Israel to change course with a plan to recognise a Palestinian state in September ahead of the UN General Assembly.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said the UK would only refrain from recognising Palestine if Israel allows more aid into Gaza, stops annexing land in the West Bank, agrees to a ceasefire and signs up to a long-term peace process over the next two months.
