UK to recognise Palestinian state Sunday after Israel fails terms

The United Kingdom is set to formally recognise a Palestinian state as early as Sunday, the government said, after Prime Minister Keir Starmer concluded that Israel had not met conditions he set in July to avert the move. The shift, aimed at pressing for a renewed path to a two state solution, comes amid a severe deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza and rising international tensions ahead of the United Nations General Assembly next week.

Starmer has tied recognition to concrete steps by Israel, including a ceasefire, resumption of humanitarian aid and halting of West Bank annexation plans. Officials and ministers say those conditions have not been met. Starmer has also insisted that recognition would be accompanied by measures to prevent Hamas from governing any future Palestinian state, including disarmament requirements, the exclusion of Hamas from government and a pledge to hold Palestinian elections within a year. He said the UK would widen sanctions on Hamas as part of the package. "Hamas are terrorists and there will be no place for them," Starmer said, adding that the group "do not want a two state solution. They do not want peace, they do not want a...