UK and Malta edge toward recognising Palestine, as UN pushes for two-state solution

Brussels – Something may be moving under the sky of international diplomaticy. As the UN conference on Palestine drew to a close last night, the United Kingdom and Malta announced that they too would soon recognise the state of Palestine. The British PM’s move seems more like a “threat” to Israel than the fruit borne out of a solid political conviction, but it could still yield results.

Few expected the announcement made last night (29 July) by His Majesty’s Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, at the end of an extraordinary meeting of his cabinet on the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip. The Labour’s PM said that “the only way to bring this humanitarian crisis to an end is through a long-term settlement,” arguing that “our goal remains a safe and secure Israel, alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state. But right now – that goal is under pressure like never before.”

“This is the moment to act​,” Starmer said, in the wake of mounting international pressure on the Jewish state to stop the ongoing killing of Palestinians, now continuing for over 21 months (that Israeli NGOs also label as genocide), and let humanitarian aid enter the coastal enclave. “We see starving babies, children too weak to stand: Images that will stay with us for a lifetime,” he added.

My statement on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and our plan for peace including the recognition of a Palestinian State. pic.twitter.com/aMUCNwJb9z

– Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) July 29, 2025

The British prime minister posed the question as a sort of ultimatum to the Israeli government: London will formally recognise the Palestinian state “unless” Tel Aviv takes “substantive steps” to immediately cease hostilities in Gaza. In short, he uses the self-determination of a people and the sovereignty of a nation as a threat. 

Be that as it may, Starmer’s move, made under the growing pressure from his own cabinet and hundreds of MPs urging him to follow the lead of Emmanuel Macron, signals nonetheless a significant change of pace by the UK, which could become the second G7 country to move in this direction.

After Paris and London, even Valletta has jumped on the bandwagon. Speaking on social media, Prime Minister Robert Abela said that Malta would also recognise the Palestinian state at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly, scheduled from 9 to 23 September.

There was an immediate response from the Israeli government, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu crying appeasement and denouncing yet another “reward for Hamas.” A broken record that crackles whenever someone takes a stand for the Palestinian cause, for human rights, and international law, and against the unjustifiable crimes perpetrated by Israel, which have led the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for the prime minister.

However, in recent weeks, the Jewish State seems increasingly isolated, harshly criticised even from its historical allies. While in the EU, the 27 member states discuss the partial suspension of Horizon+ funds proposed by the Commission, the Netherlands has banned from its territory Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, two extremist ministers in the sixth Netanyahu cabinet. 

Just yesterday, Smotrich hinted at the possibility of building new settlements in Gaza after the war is over, assuming that Tel Aviv will regain control of the Strip abandoned in 2005. The Knesset (Israel’s single-chamber parliament) recently passed a non-binding motion on the annexation of the West Bank. The future Palestinian state, currently recognised by 147 countries out of the 193 UN members (including 11 from the EU), would comprise both of those territories. 

Meanwhile, the international conference on Palestine, sponsored by France and Saudi Arabia, ends today at the UN’s Glass Palace. The “New York Declaration” submitted to the delegations of world governments proposes “taking concrete, time-bound, and irreversible steps” for the implementation of the two-state solution, starting with the ceasefire. The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) will then have to manage the transition to a sovereign and independent State of Palestine, living side by side with Israel in peace, including through an international peacekeeping mission.