The Prime Minister is told: ‘do not take this step until our loved ones are home and in our arms’
The PM has come under strong pressure to stand up for Palestinians (Image: Leon Neal / Burak Bir/Anadolu)
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been urged by relatives of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas to abandon plans to recognise Palestinian statehood. Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel accused Sir Keir of “capitulating to the hard-Left factions of his party” in a “reckless act of gesture politics”.
Sixteen relatives of hostages have written to the PM ahead of the expected announcement. They say the UK’s actions have already “dramatically complicated efforts to bring home our loved ones”.
They state: “We write to you with a simple plea – do not take this step until our loved ones are home and in our arms. The best way to end this terrible war is for Hamas to release ALL of the 48 remaining hostages.
“Those who are alive for rehabilitation and those who are not for proper burial. We implore you to use the UK’s relationships with countries across the region to apply maximum pressure upon Hamas.
“As Prime Minister of the UK you have a valuable role to play in bringing the hostages home, including three remaining British-linked hostages, but your current path is the wrong one.”
Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti said: “Keir Starmer is capitulating to the hard-left factions of his party, allowing internal dissent to dictate Britain’s foreign policy. This weakness is far from principled leadership and is designed to protect his own position rather than secure peace and stability.
“His recognition of a Palestinian state is a reckless act of gesture politics. With Hamas still holding hostages and celebrating acts of terror, this move risks sending a dangerous message of violence and extremism being tolerated and rewarded.
“Peace in the Middle East will never be secured by rewarding terrorists.”
In his press conference with President Trump, Sir Keir described Hamas as a “terrorist organisation” which can have “no part in any future governance in Palestine”.
YouGov polling found Britons support recognising Palestinian statehood by 44% to 18%. Two thirds of 18 to 24-year-olds (65%) back the move, with support high among Green (68%), Labour (62%) and Lib Dem voters (60%).
Conservative voters tend to oppose recognition by 34% to 26% – and Reform UK voters are opposed by 45% to 17%.
Dame Priti Patel: ‘Peace in the Middle East will never be secured by rewarding terrorists’ (Image: Getty)
Alan Mendoza of the Henry Jackson Society, a foreign policy think tank, said: “This cack-handed attempt to restore some relevance to UK Middle Eastern policy only serves to reinforce our irrelevance. There was a time when British pronouncements created waves around the world.
“This Government now presides over empty gestures that masquerade as high principles but instead are the result of grubby domestic political acts of desperation.
“A ‘state’ that has no defined or agreed borders, government, leader or capital city is no state. And pretending it is one makes a fool only of those breast-beating about its existence.”
