British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to announce new sanctions on Hamas while simultaneously confirming the United Kingdom’s recognition of a Palestinian state, The Telegraph reports.
The dual announcement is expected in a statement on Sunday, according to the report. The decision places the UK alongside a group of nine other countries, including Australia, France, and Belgium, that are expected to recognize a Palestinian state this weekend.
Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel condemned Starmer’s move as a “feeble last-minute attempt” to appease the White House and capitulate to the “hard-left factions” of his party.
“With the terrorist organization Hamas still holding hostages in barbaric conditions and glorifying acts of terror, Starmer is sending a dangerous message, where violence and extremism are tolerated and rewarded,” she said. “Peace in the Middle East will never be secured by rewarding terrorists. His feeble last-minute attempts to appease the United States are shallow and will never justify his reckless decision on recognition.”
Reform leader Nigel Farage echoed these sentiments, stating that for now, “Hamas and a Palestinian state are inseparable.” He called the announcement a “surrender to terrorism and a betrayal of Israel,” adding that it is “typical of Starmer, he can’t really decide where he stands.”
The new sanctions are especially significant as they will represent the first concrete action taken by the Labour government against Hamas since winning the election. The move is expected to align with a recent “reinforced package” announced by the European Union against ten members of the Hamas politburo.
Starmer outlined Britain’s plan in July, conditioning recognition of a Palestinian state on Israel agreeing to a ceasefire, committing to a two-state solution, and refraining from annexing parts of Judea and Samaria.
According to The Telegraph, the British Prime Minister is expected to claim that the situation in Gaza has worsened and that Israel has not met his demands to end the conflict. He will likely criticize the IDF’s operation on Gaza City, condemn the expansion of Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, and describe scenes of “starvation” and “suffering” in Gaza as “intolerable.” However, in an attempt to strike a more “even-handed” tone, he will also condemn Hamas as a “brutal terrorist organization” that “must disarm and cannot play any role in the running of a Palestinian state.”
Despite these condemnations, the announcement is being widely perceived as a dangerous validation of Hamas’s violence and a significant blow to the efforts to secure the release of the remaining hostages.
A poll published by The Telegraph on Saturday revealed a massive disconnect between Starmer and the public, with nearly nine out of 10 Britons opposing his expected decision to recognize a Palestinian state without any conditions.
According to the poll, conducted by JL Partners, a meager 13% of Britons support the unconditional recognition of a Palestinian state, a figure that plummets even further among Labour’s own voters, with only 11% backing the Prime Minister’s anticipated move.