ReutersA British-Israeli woman held hostage by Hamas has said Sir Keir Starmer is “not standing on the right side of history” with his pledge to recognise a Palestinian state.
Emily Damari, who was released in January after being held by Hamas for more than 15 months, said the UK prime minister “risks rewarding terror”.
Sir Keir announced on Tuesday that the UK would recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel met certain conditions, including agreeing a ceasefire and reviving the prospect of a two-state solution.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the UK’s stance rewarded “Hamas’s monstrous terrorism”.
The UK is among a growing number of countries to voice concerns over conditions in Gaza, where UN-backed experts have said a famine scenario is currently playing out.
In a news conference held after an emergency cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Sir Keir said he was announcing the plan because of the “intolerable situation” in Gaza and concern that “the very possibility of a two-state solution is reducing”.
He said that his “primary aim” was to improve the situation on the ground in Gaza but he also said Hamas must immediately release all hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, disarm and accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza.
Ms Damari, whose mother Mandy is originally from south London, was shot in the leg and hand when she was dragged from her home on Kibbutz Kfar Aza on 7 October 2023. Hamas also shot and killed her dog.
She was taken from the safe room of her house with her friends Ziv and Gali Berman.
The 27-year-old twins are still being held by Hamas and Ms Damari said she is doing all she can to get them and the other 50 hostages – not all of them alive – back to their families in Israel.
In a post on social media, she wrote: “Prime Minister Starmer is not standing on the right side of history. 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?”
She later posted: “This move does not advance peace – it risks rewarding terror. It sends a dangerous message: that violence earns legitimacy. By legitimising a state entity while Hamas still controls Gaza and continues its campaign of terror, the prime minister is not promoting a solution; he is prolonging the conflict.
“Recognition under these conditions emboldens extremists and undermines any hope for genuine peace. Shame on you!”
Her post followed a statement from lawyers representing British families with relatives who were, or are, still hostages, expressing their concerns about the prime minister’s statement.
They said: “We are concerned that the UK’s proposal risks delaying the release of the hostages.
“This is because the UK has said that it will recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel agrees a ceasefire. But the risk is that Hamas will continue to refuse a ceasefire because if it agrees to one this would make UK recognition less likely.
“The families are therefore deeply concerned that the UK’s approach risks disincentivising Hamas from releasing the hostages. This risks doing exactly what the prime minister’s statement says the UK will not do: reward Hamas for its heinous and illegal acts.
“The British hostage families take no position on the wider politics. Their concern is to bring their loved ones home, and time is fast running out.
“They therefore implore the prime minister to provide clarity and confirm, unambiguously, that Hamas will not be rewarded and that the UK will not take any substantive steps until all the hostages are free.”
ReutersSteve Brisley’s British-Israeli sister and nieces, Lianne, Noiya and Yahel Sharabi were murdered on 7 October.
His brother-in-law Eli Sharabi was released as a hostage earlier this year, looking emaciated and weak. Eli’s brother’s body is still being held hostage by Hamas.
Speaking from Wales, Mr Brisley told the BBC he was “disappointed” with the prime minister’s statement and there should be no recognition of a Palestinian state unless the hostages are released.
“My concern about the statement is it potentially incentivizes Hamas to continue to hold those hostages, just waiting until September, until a Palestinian state is recognised by the UK.
“There is a deadline for what is expected of Israel, but no similar deadline set for what is expected from Hamas.”
He added: “I think we need clarity that the release of the hostages will bring this to an end.”
ReutersNoam Sagi’s mother, Ada, was 75 when she was taken hostage by Hamas on 7 October. She was held for 53 days before being released.
Mr Sagi, from north London, told the BBC he thought Sir Keir’s announcement was “an oversight and an internal political decision in the Labour Party”.
“We are in a very delicate situation. Every day it’s about getting the right balance to achieve a ceasefire and the release of all the hostages. There is no ceasefire unless all the hostages are released. That is clear for everybody. “
He added: “I think he just gave a huge prize to Hamas.”
Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty ImagesIsrael imposed a total blockade on aid and commercial deliveries to Gaza at the start of March and resumed its military offensive against Hamas two weeks later, collapsing a two-month ceasefire.
It said it wanted to put pressure on Hamas to release its Israeli hostages.
The blockade was partially eased after 11 weeks, after the Israeli government came under pressure from its allies, but the shortages of food, medicine and fuel have worsened.
While an alert issued by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) stopped short of formally classifying Gaza as being in a famine, it said the latest data indicated “that famine thresholds have been reached for food consumption in most of the Gaza Strip and for acute malnutrition in Gaza City”.
UN agencies blame the crisis on Israel, which controls the entry of all supplies to the territory and the US and Israeli-backed aid group (Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF) which has distributed aid since late May.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the world had seen “the most horrific scenes” in Gaza and the time had come “to abate the suffering of the Palestinian people”.
Speaking at the UN in New York, he told the BBC’s Tom Bateman that Tuesday’s announcement “puts us on a pathway towards recognition”.
Sir Keir’s decision came amid growing calls from some MPs to recognise a Palestinian state.
Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel claimed the policy was designed to placate Labour MPs.
“Clearly it’s just an appeasement policy and it’s political for Keir Starmer’s back-benchers,” she said. “He knows that promises to recognise Palestine right now will not secure a lasting peace.”
In a statement issued on Wednesday, a government spokesman said: “Our demands on Hamas have not changed. For there to be any chance of peace, the hostages must be released. Hamas must lay down its weapons, and commit to having no future role in the governance of Gaza.”
He added: “We will make an assessment ahead of UNGA on how far both Israel and Hamas have met the steps we set out. No one side will have a veto on recognition through their actions or inactions.”
Leave a Reply