30/07/2025 08:08
The Guardian
Benjamin Netanyahu says announcement rewards ‘Hamas’s monstrous terrorism’ as Starmer says UK could recognise statehood in SeptemberEmily Thornberry has said it is “great news” that the UK has “finally” said it plans recognise a Palestinian state.The chair of the foreign affairs committee told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the UK has to “get on to the front foot” and “kickstart a process”.It’s great news. I’m so pleased that we finally got there.This is a major change in British foreign policy, and it’s absolutely the right thing to do.Because what we’ve been doing until now is sitting close to the Americans and hoping that somehow or other there will be a peace process, and in the middle of that, we will be able to recognise Palestine.We have to, I think, get onto the front foot and I think what we need to be doing is exactly what the Government has decided they’re going to do, which is to kickstart a process.Transport secretary Heidi Alexander rejected the idea that Keir Starmer’s pledge to recognise a Palestinian state is gesture politics. She told Times Radio on Wednesday that the decision to recognise a Palestinian state in September is about making sure it comes at the time of “maximum impact” and denied that it’s a “reward for Hamas”.Nigel Farage is “happy for there to be a free for all on the internet”, Alexander said on Sky News on Wednesday, as she appeared to double down on her fellow Cabinet minister’s claim that the Reform UK leader is on the side of “people like Jimmy Savile”. Technology secretary Peter Kyle also accused Mr Farage of being on the side of “extreme pornographers” on Tuesday.Keir Starmer spoke with a series of world leaders throughout Tuesday, including Netanyahu, and King Abdullah II of Jordan, whose nation is leading efforts to airdrop aid into Gaza. About 20 tonnes of aid have been dropped by the UK and Jordan in recent days, according to foreign secretary David Lammy.High-level representatives at the UN conference on Tuesday urged Israel to commit to a Palestinian state and gave “unwavering support” to a two-state solution. The New York Declaration, issued by the conference, sets out a phased plan to end the nearly eight-decade conflict and the ongoing war in Gaza.Foreign states are becoming bolder in their attempts to silence dissidents in the UK and the government must take stronger action, parliamentarians have warned. In a report published on Wednesday, the Joint Committee on Human Rights said transnational repression had increased in recent years, with foreign states using online harassment, lawsuits and physical violence to intimidate people in the UK. Continue reading...
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