THE UK Government has announced it has formally recognised the state of Palestine. But what does this actually mean?
Keir Starmer made the announcement on Sunday , saying that it showed both the Israeli and Palestinian people that “there can be a better future”.
Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two state solution, the United Kingdom formally recognises the State of Palestine. pic.twitter.com/yrg6Lywc1s
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) September 21, 2025
It comes after months of intense pressure on the Prime Minister’s position on the situation in Gaza, after claiming during the election campaign that Israel had the right to block the supply of food, energy and water to Gaza.
Since then, Labour’s rhetoric has toughened and a few concrete actions have been taken, including the sanctioning of extremist Israeli ministers and a partial ban on arms exports to the country, which included a major carve-out for F-35 fighter jet parts.
But the UK Government has continued to send RAF spy planes over the territory , which ministers have insisted are only to help Israel locate the hostages held by Hamas.
What does recognition change?
The UK joins around 75% of United Nations member states in recognising Palestine. The announcement was timed to coincide with Palestine being recognised by Australia, Canada and Portugal. France is expected to follow.
In the immediate sense, recognition changes little on the ground in the Middle East, Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer admitted on Monday.
He told BBC Breakfast: “Recognition will not […] mean that humanitarian aid comes in tomorrow.
“It will not mean that hostages are released tomorrow.
“But it does set out an important framework for bringing this conflict to an end, getting a ceasefire in Gaza.”
Husam Zomlot (above), the head of the Palestinian mission in the UK, said: “Recognition must now be followed by action .
“This foundational step must translate into immediate, concrete, and consequential measures, to acknowledge and halt the genocide, end the occupation and the culture of impunity that sustains it, reverse the expansion of illegal settlements, and uphold international law.”
What conditions have been imposed on recognition?
The UK Government has made extensive demands on the Palestinian Authority and on what a future Palestinian state should look like.
It must be demilitarised, which Falconer said on Monday must mean it has no military whatsoever , a position apparently backed by Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas.
He has, however, indicted he envisages a continuing role for the Palestinian Security Forces, which encompass the government’s police and military.
Elsewhere, the Palestinian Authority has agreed to implement sweeping reforms. Abbas has pledged to hold national elections within a year of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The last national election in Palestine was in 2006.
What about Hamas?
The UK Government has said that “Hamas can have no role in Palestine’s future”. This is a position backed by Abbas. He is the leader of Fatah, Hamas’s main political and sometimes military rivals.
Hamas are nominally in control of Gaza, much of which is currently under Israeli military occupation.
The two parties fought for control of Gaza in 2007 in a five-day civil war which led to Hamas taking control of the eastern territory, while the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority’s influence was limited to the splintered West Bank.
What territory will the UK be recognising?
The borders of Palestine are contested and have been serially violated by Israel and violent settlers.
Nominally, the Palestinian Authority is the recognised government of the Palestinian state defined by the Oslo Accords.
This includes the Gaza Strip to the west and the West Bank territories in the east. In practice, the Palestinian Authority currently has no control over Gaza. In the West Bank, it controls entirely around 18% of the territory – called Area A.
Area B is around 22% of the territory and there the Israelis have joint control of military and policing functions but the Palestinian Authority is responsible for civil governance.
Area C – excluding East Jerusalem – forms around 60% of the West Bank and is administered by Israel, though there are Palestinian health and education services. Palestinians in this region live under martial law, and most of it is off limits to them. Israelis, however, are entitled to full civic rights.
Israeli settlements have been expanding in the West Bank at a rapid rate since the beginning of Israel’s assault on Gaza.
And the Israeli government recently approved plans to create a new settlement in the E1 corridor east of Jerusalem, which those advocating for a Palestinian state would serve as a link between Ramallah and Bethlehem. Annexing the territory would sever this link.
The UK Government’s has not publicly commented on borders though it has been reported that it will provisionally work on those established in 1967. Speaking to the BBC on Monday, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper was asked about the risk of Israel annexing more land in the West Bank. She said: “We have been clear to the Israeli government that they must not do that.”
