London | The UK, Australia and Canada confirmed Sunday that they are formally recognising a Palestinian state despite vociferous opposition from the US and Israel.

The coordinated initiative from the Commonwealth nations and long-time allies of Israel reflects growing outrage at Israel's conduct of the war in Gaza and the steps taken by the Israeli government to thwart any efforts to create a Palestinian state, including by the continued expansion of settlements in the West Bank.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has faced pressure to take a harder line on Israel within his own governing Labour Party, said the UK's move is intended “to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis," while insisting that it wasn't a reward for Hamas.

“Today, to revive the hope of peace and a two-state solution, I state clearly as prime minister of this great country that the United Kingdom formally recognises the state of Palestine,” Starmer said in his video message.

“We recognised the state of Israel more than 75 years ago as a homeland for the Jewish people. Today we join over 150 countries who recognise a Palestinian state also. A pledge to the Palestinian and Israeli people that there can be a better future.”

The announcement was widely anticipated after Starmer said in July that the UK would recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza, allowed the UN to bring in aid and took other steps toward long-term peace.

More countries are expected to do so at the UN General Assembly this week, including from France, which like the UK, is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in his statement that the three announcements Sunday were “part of a coordinated international effort to build new momentum for a two-state solution.”

Palestinian and Israeli reactions

President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed Britain's announcement, stressing that it constitutes an important and necessary step toward achieving a just peace in accordance with international law.

There was no immediate reaction from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but ahead of the decision Sunday his spokeswoman, Shosh Bedrosian, said the leader considered the manoeuvre "absurd and simply a reward for terrorism.”

Not universally agreed

The UK's recognition of a Palestinian state comes just days after a state visit to Britain by US President Donald Trump, during which he voiced his disapproval of the plan.

Critics, including the US and the Israeli government, which has shown no interest in a two-state solution, have condemned the plans, saying it rewards Hamas for its attack on October 7, 2023.

As well as arguing that recognition is immoral, critics argue that it's an empty gesture given that the Palestinian people are divided into two territories — the West Bank and Gaza — with no recognised international capital.

Historical overlay

The UK and France have a historic role in the politics of the Middle East over the past 100 years, having carved up the region following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I.

As part of that carve-up, the UK became the governing power of what was then Palestine. It was also author of the 1917 Balfour Declaration, which backed the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people.”

However, the second part of the declaration has been largely neglected over the decades. It noted “that nothing shall be done, nothing which may prejudice the civil and religious rights” of the Palestinian people.

“It's significant for France and the UK to recognise Palestine because of the legacy of these two countries' involvement in the Middle East,” said Burcu Ozcelik, senior research fellow for Middle East Security at London-based Royal United Services Institute.

“But without the United States coming on board with the idea of a Palestine, I think very little will change on the ground."

The Palestinian head of mission in the UK Husam Zomlot told the BBC that recognition would right a colonial-era wrong.

“The issue today is ending the denial of our existence that started 108 years ago, in 1917,” he said. “And I think today, the British people should celebrate a day when history is being corrected, when wrongs are being righted, when recognition of the wrongs of the past are beginning to be corrected.”

Change of tack

The UK has for decades supported an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, but insisted recognition must come as part of a peace plan to achieve a two-state solution.

However, the government has become increasingly worried that such a solution is becoming all but impossible – not only because of the razing of Gaza and displacement of most of its population during nearly two years of conflict, but because Israel's government is aggressively expanding settlements in the West Bank, land Palestinians want for their future state. Much of the world regards Israel's occupation of the West Bank, which is ostensibly run by the Palestinian Authority, as illegal.

“This move has symbolic and historic weight, makes clear the UK's concerns about the survival of a two-state solution, and is intended to keep that goal relevant and alive,” said Olivia O'Sullivan, Director of the UK in the World Programme at the London-based think tank, Chatham House.