UK to recognise Palestine in Sept unless Israel meets conditions: PM Starmer 

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Tuesday Britain was set to recognise a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly unless Israel takes a number of steps to improve life for Palestinians.

Starmer said Britain would make the move unless Israel took substantive steps to allow more aid to enter Gaza, made clear there will be no annexation of the West Bank and commits to a long-term peace process that delivers a two-state solution - a Palestinian state co-existing in peace alongside Israel.

The Palestinian people have endured terrible suffering, Starmer told reporters. He said, "Now, in Gaza, because of a catastrophic failure of aid, we see starving babies, children too weak to stand, images that will stay with us for a lifetime”. The suffering must end." Starmer said his government would make an assessment in September on "how far the parties have met these steps", but that no one would have a veto over the decision. 

UK PM took the decision after recalling his cabinet during the summer holidays on Tuesday to discuss a new proposed peace plan being worked on with other European leaders and how to deliver more humanitarian aid for Gaza's 2.2 million people. 

Britain, if it acts, would become the second Western power on the U.N. Security Council to do so after France last week, reflecting Israel's deepening isolation over its conduct in its war against Hamas in Gaza, where a humanitarian disaster has set in and the Palestinian death toll has risen above 60,000.