The transport secretary tied herself in knots when she was faced with questions over the conditions for the recognition of Palestine, following pushback to the government’s announcement.
There has been growing backlash to the position, with the government facing criticism for using Palestinian statehood as leverage, as well as confusion over whether the release of the hostages held by Hamas will be one of the conditions for recognition.
Sir Keir Starmer confirmed on Tuesday that the UK will recognise a Palestinian state by September unless Israel takes urgent steps to end the war in Gaza.
The UK will only refrain from doing so 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, pressed on the issue, the transport secretary could not say whether the release of the hostages was a condition.
Heidi Alexander 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, she added: “This isn’t about Hamas, this is actually about delivering for the Palestinian people and making sure that we can get aid in.”
It came after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sir Keir’s announcement rewards “Hamas’s monstrous terrorism”.
In a statement on the social media site X, Israel’s prime minister added: “Appeasement towards jihadist terrorists always fails.”
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.
“If we were completely irrelevant, why has Netanyahu completely lost it overnight?”, she said.
“It’s not exactly a considered diplomatic careful statement really. It’s a furious statement.”
Donald Trump, who met Sir Keir on Monday and discussed measures to end the starvation faced by Gazans, suggested the pair had not talked about recognising Palestinian statehood. But Mr Trump said he did not mind the PM “taking a position” on the issue.
Other figures within the US administration have taken a harder line on recognising Palestine.
US state department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce suggested a UN conference called to discuss recognising a Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution was a “publicity stunt” and called it a “slap in the face” to the victims of the October 7 attacks.
She also suggested that the UK announcement could risk “rewarding Hamas”.
Sir Keir 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.
