UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer released a recorded statement on Friday, July 25, on the “appalling” situation in Gaza, saying that he is “working on a pathway to peace in the region”.
“That pathway will set out concrete steps to turn the desperately needed ceasefire into a lasting peace. Recognition of a Palestinian state has to be one of those steps”, Starmer said.
That would be “part of a wider plan which ultimately results in a two-state solution and lasting security for Palestinians and Israelis”.
His statement came after President Emmanuel Macron announced France would officially recognise a Palestinian state in September.
Starmer said the “appalling scenes in Gaza are unrelenting” and that the “British people are sickened by what’s happening.”
“We are accelerating efforts to evacuate children from Gaza who need critical medical assistance, bringing them to the UK for specialist medical treatment.”
Starmer said that “we will do everything we can” to get aid into Gaza, after Israel announced it would allow foreign countries to drop aid in the coming days.
“News that Israel will allow countries to airdrop aid into Gaza has come far too late”, Starmer said, adding that the UK is working with Jordanian authorities to get British aid onto planes and into Gaza.
