UK, Canada, Australia recognise Palestine state while Israel widens annexation from Gaza to West Bank
The three countries' move, intended to promote an eventual two-state solution, is an expression of frustration over the killings and famine in Gaza
At a time when Israel is going ahead with flattening the occupied Palestinian territory of Gaza and pitching it as a real-estate opportunity — while the population flees amid an ongoing onslaught that has killed over 65,000 people so far — Britain, Canada and Australia have now recognised a Palestinian state on Sunday in a move that remains largely symbolic.
The move, intended to promote an eventual two-state solution, is an expression of frustration over the killings and famine in Gaza, which Israel and the US define as retaliation at the Palestinian militant group Hamas's attack inside Israel in October 2023.
The decision by the three big countries — the UK once ruled that region and played a key role in creating the modern state of Israel eight decades ago — aligns with the call by about 140 other countries which also back Palestinians' right to have an independent homeland from the Israeli-occupied territories.
"Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two-state solution, the United Kingdom formally recognises the State of Palestine," Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on X.
Other nations, including France, are expected to follow suit this week at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Israel has stuck to its stance that the assault on Gaza is part of its plan to rid the region of Hamas.
It has, however, also been pushing newer settlements in the West Bank, the Palestinian territory where Hamas does not have any significant presence or governing role. That is being seen as its final move to kill the practical possibility of a Palestinian state.
Israel's security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the UK, Canada and Australia's decisions on Sunday were a reward for "murderers". He was referring to the Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people and saw 251 others taken hostage as per Israeli officials.
Ben-Gvir also said he would propose at the next cabinet meeting to “apply sovereignty” in the West Bank, a de facto annexation of land Israel seized in a 1967 war. He also said the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank, should be dismantled.
Palestinian Authority foreign minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin welcomed countries recognising a Palestinian state. "It is a move bringing us closer to sovereignty and independence. It might not end the war tomorrow, but it's a move forward, which we need to build on and amplify," she said, according to a report by news agency Reuters.
