UK foreign secretary says plans to recognise Palestine will proceed despite Israeli obstruction

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy is due to tell members of parliament on Monday that London is moving ahead with its plan to recognise a Palestinian state within the next month, despite the Israeli government’s intransigence and failure to respond to international demands.

According to a report in The Guardian, Lammy will confirm that the British government will carry out an official assessment in the coming days of Israel’s compliance with the benchmarks set by Prime Minister Keir Starmer last month, but current indicators suggest Israel is continuing to tighten its policies toward Gaza and the West Bank.

Nevertheless, the foreign secretary will stress that Britain remains “on track” to recognise Palestine, in a move being coordinated diplomatically with France to align European positions.

Lammy warned of the worsening humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, where UN experts recently declared a full-scale famine. He said in an official statement: “The humanitarian situation in Gaza is catastrophic, and women and children are the most affected,” adding that Israel’s blocking of aid is the main reason the crisis is worsening.