Britain to host Palestinian PM as diplomatic winds shift on Gaza
In what could be a pivotal step toward Palestinian state recognition, Britain will host its first Palestinian prime minister since 2021 on the 28th of April.
According to The National, Mohammad Mustafa, the Palestinian Prime Minister, will engage in an hour-long meeting with the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, alongside Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
The discussion will centre around the situation in Gaza with Palestinian statehood at the top of the agenda.
The British side in this meeting is to continue “enshrining their commitment to advancing Palestinian statehood as part of a two-state solution,” per the Foreign Office.
This development is significant as it gives a voice to the Palestinian Authority through an Israeli ally. It may indicate that world powers, who previously took a more appeasing stance on the Gaza war, are finally recognising and condemning the situation in pursuit of a peaceful solution.
This change in sentiment appears to be spearheaded by Macron and France, who are set to give formal recognition to Palestine in June at an international conference in New York.
It appears that this moving of the dial by Macron could be the incentive to see Starmer and Lammy finally give their backing to the Palestinian state as they have said they would do but “at a time that has the greatest impact”.
This significant impact may well be developing in the coming months, as the public meeting between the Palestinian Prime Minister and UK leadership serves as a clear diplomatic statement.
Though this move by Starmer and Lammy would feel reactive rather than proactive, as there have been numerous cases since the start of the year where the heads of the Labour government mishandled situations towards Israel and the war in Gaza.
Notably, Lammy claimed in the House of Commons that Netanyahu’s blockade of aid to Palestine, which broke the agreed ceasefire, was “a breach of international law.”
Lammy pivoted on these beliefs after receiving a negative response from the prime minister and the comments contradicting the relationship between Israel and the UK.
Despite this, there has been growing resentment for Netanyahu and his handling of the war in Gaza by the Labour government as MPS such as Emily Thornberry have openly called Netanyahu out for clinging onto his power at all costs, pleading for recognition of Palestine.
It now appears that with a nudge from France’s Macron that the reactionary government of Starmer may be at the “moment of greatest impact” to extend its hand to Palestine in the search for peace in the two-state solution.
The National, UK Foreign Office, Maghrebi.org,
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