Speculation is mounting that Keir Starmer is close to agreeing to officially recognise a Palestinian state, with pressure from inside Labour described as “overwhelming”.
The prime minister is set to hold a call with fellow E3 leaders – French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Friedrich Merz – today to discuss the crisis in Gaza amid growing fears of mass starvation being caused by the Israeli blockade on food and aid supplies.
But it has been overshadowed by France’s decision to recognise Palestine, adding to pressure from divisions within Sir Keir’s own cabinet for the UK to follow suit.
It comes as Sir Keir used his strongest language yet on the worsening crisis in the embattled enclave, describing the actions by Benjamin Netanyahu as “unspeakable and indefensible”.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who came close to losing her seat to a pro-Gaza independent MP in last year’s general election, and several other cabinet ministers want immediate recognition of Palestine as a state.
But it is being claimed there is resistance from cabinet ministers closely linked to the Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) group, whose members include Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
Another senior minister linked to LFI, technology secretary Peter Kyle, also made the case for not recognising a Palestinian state immediately during broadcast rounds on Friday morning.
He insisted: “The timeline for peace and stability and a negotiated solution to the war that’s currently unfolding and ultimately Palestinian statehood is in the gift of Palestine and Israel themselves. It cannot be imposed from the outside.”
One senior Labour figure told The Independent that “the pressure feels overwhelming” on the prime minister to recognise Palestine.
And Labour’s biggest financial backers, the trade unions, have reiterated their demands through the TUC for immediate recognition of Palestine as well as the suspension of a trade agreement with Israel.
It comes after a majority of members on the powerful Foreign Affairs Select Committee in the Commons have also issued a report overnight demanding immediate recognition of a Palestinian state.
On top of that a cross party group of MPs led by Labour chair of the Commons International Development Committee Sarah Champion, are sending a prime minister repeating the demand.
The letter signed by more than 100 MPs said: “British recognition of Palestine would be particularly powerful given its role as the author of the Balfour Declaration and the former Mandatory Power in Palestine.
“Since 1980 we have backed a two-state solution. Such a recognition would give that position substance as well as living up to a historic responsibility we have to the people under that Mandate.”
Added to that, the emergence of Jeremy Corbyn’s new party, which has the support of pro-Gaza independent MPs poses a major problem for Sir Keir.
There is now speculation within Labour that Sir Keir may go ahead with recognition after he meets Donald Trump in Scotland on Monday, to ensure that the bilateral with the US president is not derailed by the issue.
The US has overnight condemned France for “rewarding terrorism” by recognising a Palestinian state.
Speaking out against the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which has seen 45 people die from starvation in four days, Sir Keir edged closer to agreeing to formal recognition of Palestine as a state.
In a statement on Thursday night, he said: “We are clear that statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people.
“A ceasefire will put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution which guarantees peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis.”
