A British-Israeli woman who was held hostage by Hamas for more than a year has said Sir Keir Starmer is “not standing on the right side of history” following his pledge to recognise a Palestinian state.
Emily Damari, who was held by Hamas for 15 months, accused him of a “moral failure”, warning that his promise to recognise Palestine if Israel fails to take steps to end the war in Gaza “risks rewarding terror”.
On Tuesday, the prime minister recalled the Cabinet from their summer holidays to discuss steps to end what he called the “appalling situation in Gaza”, where a UN assessment has warned the population is facing a mounting humanitarian crisis.
Sir Keir said the UK would only refrain from recognising Palestine if Israel allows more aid into Gaza, stops annexing land in the West Bank, agrees to a ceasefire and signs up to a long-term peace process over the next two months.
Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, must immediately release all remaining Israeli hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, disarm and “accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza”, Sir Keir also said.
But hitting back on social media, Ms Damari said: “Had he been in power during World War II, would he have advocated recognition for Nazi control of occupied countries like Holland, France or Poland?
“This is not diplomacy – it is a moral failure. Shame on you, prime minister”, she said.
Ms Damari said the PM’s decision “does not advance peace – it risks rewarding terror”, adding that it “sends a dangerous message: that violence earns legitimacy”.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu also issued a furious response, saying the decision “rewards Hamas’s monstrous terrorism and punishes its victims.”
He added: “A jihadist state on Israel’s border today will threaten Britain tomorrow. Appeasement towards jihadist terrorists always fails. It will fail you too. It will not happen.”
US president Donald Trump also accused the UK of “rewarding Hamas” with the ultimatum, despite previously saying he did not mind the PM “taking a position” on the issue.
It comes amid confusion over whether or not the release of hostages is a condition for the recognition of Palestine, with transport secretary Heidi Alexander on Wednesday morning tying herself in knots on the issue.
She said ministers have “always said right from day one that the hostages need to be released”, adding that the UK expects “Hamas to act in the same way as we expect Israel to act”.
“Hamas need to release the hostages, they need to disarm, and they also need to accept that they will have no future role in the governance of Gaza,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“They are a vile terrorist organisation that has perpetrated heinous crimes and awful atrocities on the Israeli people.”
But asked directly if the release of hostages is a condition for recognition, she said: “We will be making an assessment in September.”
She added: “We’re giving Israel eight weeks to act. If they want to be sat at the table to shape that enduring peace in the region, they must act.”
Also asked about the issue on Sky News, Ms Alexander added: “This isn’t about Hamas, this is actually about delivering for the Palestinian people and making sure that we can get aid in.”
Emily Thornberry, the chair of the House of Commons foreign affairs committee, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Mr Netanyahu’s “furious” response shows Britain is “not irrelevant” on the world stage.
She said: “If we were completely irrelevant, why has Netanyahu completely lost it overnight?
“It’s not exactly a considered diplomatic careful statement really. It’s a furious statement.”
The prime minister said the government’s “primary aim” was getting aid into Gaza and getting hostages released when asked why UK recognition of the state of Palestine was conditional.
He added he was “particularly concerned that the very idea of a two-state solution is reducing and feels further away today than it has for many, many years”.
While Sir Keir signalled the UK could back away from recognising a Palestinian state if his conditions are met, No 10 is understood to believe that such a two-state solution would also proceed from negotiations towards a sustained peace.
The prime minister said the UK and its allies need to see “at least 500 trucks entering Gaza every day” to deliver aid, and are together “mounting a major effort to get humanitarian supplies back in” by air and by land.
Sir Keir spoke with a series of world leaders throughout Tuesday, including Mr Netanyahu, and King Abdullah II of Jordan, whose nation is leading efforts to airdrop aid into Gaza.
About 20 tonnes of aid have been dropped by the UK and Jordan in recent days, according to Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
High-level representatives at the UN conference on Tuesday urged Israel to commit to a Palestinian state and gave “unwavering support” to a two-state solution.
The New York Declaration, issued by the conference, sets out a phased plan to end the nearly eight-decade conflict and the ongoing war in Gaza.
The plan would culminate with an independent, demilitarised Palestine living side by side peacefully with Israel, and their eventual integration into the wider Middle East region.
