ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The UK will recognize a Palestinian state in September at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) unless Israel takes “substantive steps” toward resolving the conflict and alleviating the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

“We are determined to protect the viability of the two-state solution, and so we will recognise the state of Palestine in September before UNGA; unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza and commits to a long term sustainable peace,” read a statement from the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office shortly after a cabinet meeting to discuss the situation in Gaza.

The conditions outlined by the UK include “allowing the UN to restart without delay the supply of humanitarian support to the people of Gaza to end starvation, agreeing to a ceasefire, and making clear there will be no annexations in the West Bank.”

The UK’s announcement came five days after French President Emmanuel Macron vowed to recognize the State of Palestine in the upcoming UN assembly in September, citing an “urgent need” for an end to the Gaza situation and a lack of alternatives.

“But recognition by itself will not change the situation on the ground,” read the statement by Starmer’s office. “We are therefore taking additional immediate steps to alleviate the humanitarian situation, including air drops of humanitarian supplies along with Jordan, and getting injured children out of Gaza and into British hospitals alongside pressing strongly for UN deliveries of humanitarian assistance to resume.”

Israel's lengthy and destructive military campaign in Gaza, as well as the tightening of humanitarian corridors and restriction of aid entering the Strip, has sparked uproar, with many European countries previously considered strong allies of Israel undergoing a salient tone shift in their rhetoric toward the conflict, increasingly voicing exasperated criticism of and frustration with Tel Aviv's actions.

In a joint statement earlier in July, the foreign ministers of 30 countries, including the UK, called for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and condemned “the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children.”

The Israeli campaign has claimed the lives of over 60,000 Palestinians since October 7 2023, and wounded more than 140,000 others, according to Gaza's health ministry.

139 countries, including several from Europe, have already recognized a Palestinian state. Ireland, Norway, and Spain announced that they would recognize the State of Palestine in May 2024, resulting in Israel withdrawing their ambassadors from the three countries in protest.