UK says Israel must not retaliate against Palestinian statehood push

In response to the UK’s declaration of Palestinian statehood, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper claims to have warned Israel against annexing portions of the West Bank. Cooper’s remarks came prior to a meeting at the United Nations in New York on Monday, where France and other European nations are expected to make a similar declaration.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer declared on Sunday that the UK, Canada, Australia, and Portugal would all recognize a Palestinian state, marking a dramatic shift in policy. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the moves, saying they give “a huge reward to terrorism”.

She said: “We have been clear that this decision that we are taking is about the best way to respect the security for Israel as well as the security for Palestinians.

“It’s about protecting peace and justice and crucially security for the Middle East and we will continue to work with everyone across the region in order to be able to do that.”

Cooper said extremists on both sides were seeking to abandon any prospect of a two-state solution, which the UK had a moral obligation to revive.

“The easy thing to do would be to just walk away and to say well it is all just too hard,” Cooper said. “We just think that is wrong when we’ve seen such devastation, such suffering.

“Just as we recognise Israel, the state of Israel … so we must also recognise the rights for the Palestinians to a state of their own as well.”

According to the Foreign Office, Cooper will strive to create global agreement on a framework for Middle East peace at the UN General Assembly.  After pledging to recognize Palestinian statehood in July, France will co-chair a conference with Saudi Arabia to discuss the way to a two-state resolution to the issue. At the summit, Belgium is also anticipated to adopt France’s proclamation.