The United Kingdom, Canada and Australia on Sunday formally recognised the Palestinian state.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the step was intended “to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis”.
“In the face of the growing horrors in the Middle East we are acting to keep alive the possibility of peace and a two-state solution,” Starmer said. “That means a safe and secure Israel, alongside a viable Palestinian state. At the moment we have neither.”
The Palestinian militant group Hamas would have no role in the governance of a future Palestinian state, Starmer said, adding that it must release the hostages it still holds from the October 2023 attacks.
In July, Starmer had announced that the UK would recognise the Palestinian state unless Israel took steps to end the “appalling situation” in Gaza.
Israel’s military offensive in Gaza began in October 2023 after Hamas killed 1,200 persons during its incursion into southern Israel and took hostages. Israel has been carrying out unprecedented air and ground strikes on besieged Gaza since then, leaving more than 62,600 persons dead.
In August, the UN formally declared a famine in northern Gaza, warning that it could spread from the Gaza Governorate to Deir Al Balah and Khan Younis in the coming weeks.
A UN commission of inquiry said on September 16 that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
On Sunday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also confirmed Ottawa’s decision to recognise Palestine.
“Canada recognises the State of Palestine and offers our partnership in building the promise of a peaceful future for both the State of Palestine and the State of Israel,” he said on social media.
The Canadian prime minister said in a statement that Hamas had “terrorised the people of Israel and oppressed the people of Gaza, wreaking horrific suffering”. It is imperative that Hamas releases all hostages, fully disarms and plays no role in the future governance of Palestine, he added.
Carney said that the Israeli government was working methodically to prevent the prospect of a Palestinian state from ever being established.
“Its sustained assault in Gaza has killed tens of thousands of civilians, displaced well over one million people, and caused a devastating and preventable famine in violation of international law,” he said. “It is now the avowed policy of the current Israeli government that ‘there will be no Palestinian state.’”
It is in this context that Canada was recognising Palestine, Carney said.
“Recognising the State of Palestine, led by the Palestinian Authority, empowers those who seek peaceful coexistence and the end of Hamas,” he said. “This in no way legitimises terrorism, nor is it any reward for it.”
The Palestinian Authority, led by Hamas’ rival Fatah, has partial control of Palestine’s West Bank region and represents the State of Palestine at the UN.
Australia also said that it was recognising Palestinian statehood.
“In doing so, Australia recognises the legitimate and long held aspirations of the people of Palestine to a state of their own,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement.
“Australia’s recognition of Palestine today, alongside Canada and the United Kingdom, is part of a co-ordinated international effort to build new momentum for a two-state solution, starting with a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the hostages…,” he said.
As of March, Palestine was recognised as a sovereign state by 147 out of the 193 United Nations members. Palestine has been a non-member observer state of the United Nations General Assembly since 2012.
Other countries joining the growing list of states that recognise Palestine are Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Malta and possibly New Zealand and Liechtenstein, The Guardian reported.
These countries are likely to make their announcements on Monday at a special UN conference to revive the cause of a two-state solution for establishing a sovereign, viable and independent state of Palestine within recognised and mutually agreed borders, living alongside Israel in peace.
There will be no Palestinian state, says Israel
Responding to the statements made by the UK, Canada and Australia, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday reiterated that there will be no Palestinian state.
“I have a clear message to those leaders who are recognising a Palestinian state after the horrendous October 7 massacre: You are rewarding terror with an enormous prize,” he said. “…It’s not going to happen. There will be no Palestinian state to the west of the Jordan River.”
The development on Monday came days after the Israeli military on September 16 launched a new ground offensive in Gaza City. The Israeli forces claimed that they were destroying infrastructure in the city allegedly linked to Hamas.
Congress says New Delhi’s stance ‘shameful’
Meanwhile, the Congress noted that Australia, Canada and the UK had recognised Palestine and that more countries were expected to follow suit.
India had formally recognised Palestinian statehood on November 18, 1988, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on social media.
“But India’s policy in regard to Palestine – especially for the past twenty months – has been shameful and one of moral cowardice,” he said.
India’s longstanding position has been to support a two-state solution.
In July, New Delhi called for a ceasefire in Gaza, saying that “intermittent pauses in hostilities” amid Israel’s war on the Palestinian territory were inadequate to address the scale of challenges faced by its residents.
“There is no substitute to peace,” Parvathaneni Harish, India’s permanent representative to the UN, had said at a UN Security Council debate. “A ceasefire must be put in place. All hostages must be released. Dialogue and diplomacy remain the only viable paths to achieving these objectives. There are no other fixes or solutions.”
However, the diplomat’s remarks came more than a month after India, along with 19 other countries, abstained from voting on a resolution that the UN General Assembly adopted demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.
Hundred and forty-nine countries voted in favour of the non-binding resolution demanding an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Israel’s war on the besieged Palestinian territory. Israel and the United States were among the 12 countries that voted against it.
The resolution had reiterated demands for the unconditional release of remaining hostages held by Hamas and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza.
It also condemned the use of starvation and the denial of aid as tactics of war and demanded that Israel immediately lift the blockade on Gaza and open all border crossings for aid deliveries.
In December 2023, India was among 153 nations that voted in favour of a resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly to demand a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. New Delhi had in July 2024, reiterated its call at the UN for an immediate and complete ceasefire in Gaza.
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