Starmer has called for an extraordinary meeting of his cabinet this week to discuss the situation in Gaza, as pressure mounts on the Prime Minister for the United Kingdom to recognize the State of Palestine, following the steps of France, whose President, Emmanuel Macron, announced last week that they will do so in September.
According to the left-wing newspaper 'The Guardian', one-third of the Labour Party parliamentarians, to which Starmer belongs, as well as several of his ministers, support the recognition, which the Prime Minister opposes until there is a peace plan for the creation of two states, something that currently has no chance of materializing. Given the growing difficulties of the Prime Minister with the left wing of his party, Starmer will have to tread very carefully to maintain his good relationship with Trump and, at the same time, avoid internal rebellion. His proposal to Trump will be a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza to allow the entry of aid.
British Treasury Secretary James Murray stated yesterday that London is "fully committed to recognizing Palestine", but that it must be "part of a peace process". Approximately three-quarters of the world's countries have recognized the Palestinian state. This week, British Foreign Minister David Lammy is attending a conference organized by the UN in New York on the - for now, dead and buried - Middle East peace process.
None of this aligns with Trump's positions. The U.S. President attacked the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas yesterday, accusing them of stealing humanitarian aid in Gaza, a position identical to that of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Last week, the U.S. and Israel broke off negotiations with Hamas in Qatar for a ceasefire and the release of the approximately 40 Israeli hostages (half of them deceased) held by the terrorists. Since yesterday, partly due to pressure from the European Union, Israel has eased the entry of humanitarian aid convoys into Gaza.