Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said the UK’s recognition of a Palestinian state will have little immediate impact but will sustain hopes for an eventual peace settlement.
Mr Lammy acknowledged it would not ease the humanitarian crisis or secure the release of hostages, but said it would keep open the prospect of an eventual two-state solution with a Palestinian state existing alongside Israel.
Here is what the UK’s recognition of a Palestinian state could mean:
The existence of a Palestinian state
The UK has recognised Palestine as a state, acknowledging all the legal rights and obligations of statehood, and “expecting the State of Palestine to abide by previous commitments entered into by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) or Palestinian Authority (PA), specifically the Oslo Accords”.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said it also means the UK “recognises Palestinian statehood over provisional borders, based on 1967 lines with equal land swaps, to be finalised as part of future negotiations”.
However, Mr Lammy said “we are some significant distance” from two states – Palestine and Israel – existing alongside each other and that international recognition “does not make a Palestinian state happen overnight”.
He suggested a peace process would have to be based on the 1967 borders, with a shared capital in Jerusalem – issues that could take some time to resolve.
The war in Gaza and the Israeli–Palestinian peace process
Supporters of recognition argue it may encourage a renewed peace process, allow equal negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, or ease discussion on issues under the 1990s Oslo Accords agreed between Israel and the PLO such as borders and security.
However, recognition, in itself, will not resolve these issues, change the humanitarian situation on the ground in Gaza or end the ongoing conflict.
Mr Lammy told BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: “Will this feed children? No it won’t, that’s down to humanitarian aid. Will this free hostages? That must be down to a ceasefire.”
But he said it was an attempt to get, or at least “hold out for” a two-state solution.
The senior Palestinian diplomat in the UK said recognition would correct a colonial-era wrong dating back to the Balfour Declaration supporting the creation of a Jewish state in 1917.
The Palestinian head of mission Husam Zomlot told the BBC: “The issue today is ending the denial of our existence that started 108 years ago, in 1917.”
The Israeli government has argued that “premature” recognition occurring separately to direct Israeli–Palestinian negotiations could remove an incentive for Palestinians to negotiate.
It also argues that neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority can be “partners” to a peace process, citing the October 7 2023 attack, attempts of Hamas and Fatah to agree national unity governments, ongoing hostility towards Israel, and antisemitic content in Palestinian educational material.
A spokeswoman for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he viewed the recognition of a Palestinian state as “absurd”.
Symbolism
London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said recognising a Palestinian state will show people in Gaza that they have “not been forgotten about”.
Asked how the symbolic move would affect people living in Gaza, Sir Sadiq said: “Well let’s not underestimate the importance of symbolism. I’ve spoken to people who have family in Gaza, and they know what’s happening around the world.
“It’s really important for them to understand they’re not suffering in silence. They’ve not been forgotten about.”
The FCDO said the “historic step” to recognise a Palestinian state was taken alongside Canada and Australia, as part of “wider international effort to support a pathway to peace and protect the equal rights of both Israeli and Palestinian peoples”.
Diplomatic status
Recognising a Palestinian state would allow the status of diplomatic missions to be upgraded.
Currently, the Palestinian Authority delegation to the UK is not of embassy level and operates as a “diplomatic mission” based in Hammersmith, West London.
Embassy status would give the delegations protection and privileges under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The FCDO said the Foreign Secretary will write to her Palestinian counterpart in “due course to lay out the process for establishing full diplomatic relations”.
Membership of international organisations
Diplomatic recognition of a state does not mean automatic membership of international organisations such as the UN, the World Trade Organisation or the International Monetary Fund.
Each international organisation has its own criteria and processes for membership.
In the case of the UN, applications for full UN membership must gain the support of the UN Security Council and a vote of two-thirds of the membership of the UN General Assembly.
The PLO has had permanent observer status at the UN since 2012, allowing it to participate, but not vote, in its proceedings.
In April 2024, the US vetoed a resolution at the UN Security Council to admit the “state of Palestine” to full membership. The UK abstained.
The US also has legislation in place that means if the Occupied Palestinian Territories become a full member state of a UN specialised agency such as the World Bank, Unicef or the Food and Agriculture Organisation, then US funding will be terminated.
What happens now?
The UK will use the UN General Assembly to push for international backing of a framework for peace in the Middle East, following its recognition of a Palestinian state.
The question of Palestinian statehood is likely to dominate the gathering of world leaders in New York in the coming
Australia, Canada and Portugal have made similar announcements to the UK’s, while France is expected to formally recognise Palestine on Monday at the UN.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said she will use the summit to address civilian suffering in war-ravaged Gaza and seek to strengthen “the international consensus on our pathway for peace in the Middle East”.
She will hold bilateral meetings to advance elements of the plan, including transitional governance and security measures to ensure Hamas has no role in the future governance of Gaza, according to the Foreign Office.
However the growing international push on state recognition seems certain to prompt a fierce backlash from Israel and its key ally the United States.
