LONDON: Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas Monday in London, as the UK government edges toward recognizing a Palestinian state.
The leaders discussed “the need for an urgent solution to end the horrific suffering and famine” in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas, a spokesperson for Starmer’s Downing Street office said in a statement.
Abbas welcomed the UK’s “pledge to recognizing a Palestinian state ahead of the UN General Assembly meeting later this month, unless Israel changes its course,” the spokesperson added.
Several countries including Britain and France have announced they intend to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations later this month.
Starmer’s government said it will take the step if Israel fails to agree to a ceasefire in the devastating Gaza war, triggered by Palestinian militant group Hamas’s October 2023 attack.
The British leader has indicated he will do that in the coming weeks unless the Israeli government takes “substantive” steps to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and commit to a long-term, sustainable peace.
His meeting with Abbas “is part of the prime minister’s ongoing efforts to reach a political solution to the ongoing conflict in Gaza,” Downing Street said ahead of the bilateral.
During their talks, both leaders “agreed there will be absolutely no role for Hamas in the future governance of Palestine” and reiterated the need for a “long-term solution” to the conflict.
Israeli president visiting
Abbas, 89, arrived in London on Sunday night for a three-day visit.
He was barred from attending the general assembly in New York by the US State Department last month.
During their meeting, Starmer “welcomed” Abbas’s “commitment to reform of the Palestinian Authority as a vital part of this work,” his office said.
The Palestinian Authority is a civilian body that governs in areas of the West Bank, where about three million Palestinians live — as well as around half a million Israelis occupying settlements considered illegal under international law.
Meanwhile, Israeli President Isaac Herzog will arrive in the UK on Tuesday for an official visit, his office announced Monday.
It is not clear whether Herzog will meet Starmer during his visit, which aims to “show solidarity with the Jewish community, which is under severe attack and facing a wave of antisemitism.”
The Israeli president is due to meet Jewish community organizations as well as “members of parliament, public representatives (and) influencers,” according to his office.
Ties between Britain and Israel are increasingly strained over the conflict in Gaza, with London suspending trade talks and some arms exports, as well as deciding not to invite Israeli officials to the UK’s biggest arms showcase which also opens on Tuesday.