Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday blasted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, after Starmer announced that his country will recognize a Palestinian state by September if the situation in Gaza does not improve by then.
“Starmer rewards Hamas’s monstrous terrorism and punishes its victims,” Netanyahu wrote in an English-language post on his X account.
“A jihadist state on Israel’s border TODAY will threaten Britain TOMORROW. Appeasement towards jihadist terrorists always fails. It will fail you too. It will not happen," he added.
Starmer stated earlier that the recognition of “Palestine” would take place at the UN General Assembly "unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, reaches a ceasefire, makes clear there will be no annexation in the West Bank, and commits to a long-term peace process that delivers a two-state solution."
Starmer's ultimatum to Israel follows a similar announcement from French President Emmanuel Macron last week.
Macron had previously publicly called upon the United Kingdom to join France in recognizing a Palestinian state.
Starmer’s announcement followed reports that he is preparing to link recognition of a Palestinian state to concrete developments on the ground, including a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.