The United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia recognize the Palestinian state.

LondonA balancing act between a guilty conscience, the United Kingdom's eternal interests, more closely tied than ever to the United States, and an increasingly rebellious public opinion against the ongoing Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Keir Starmer formally announced this Sunday, in a pre-recorded video, the recognition of the State of Palestine, an announcement he made at the same time as his counterparts from Australia and Canada, members of the Commonwealth.

Starmer justified the decision—announced a couple of months ago and contingent on a change in Israeli policy, which has not yet occurred—as a necessary step to "keep alive the possibility of peace and a two-state solution." London also clarifies that this is "in no way a prize for Hamas." A statement with which he attempts to refute the accusation made against him by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, since he announced his decision shortly before the United Nations General Assembly, which begins this Monday in New York.

"Our goal is a secure Israel and a viable Palestinian state, because at the moment we have neither," he said, forgetting that, today, and after two years of continued massacre against the Gaza Strip, plus Tel Aviv's colonial policy in the occupied territories of the West Bank, that is what it is all about. In any case, Starmer assured that Israelis and Palestinians "deserve to live in peace, to rebuild their lives, free from violence and suffering," and stressed that this is also "the deep desire of the British people."

London reaches the decision - with which US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he disagreed.– dragging its feet, after having practically unconditionally supported Tel Aviv despite the atrocities of Netanyahu's military campaign, until only a few months ago it partially suspended the shipment of some types of weapons to Israel.

In his statement, lasting just over six minutes, Starmer recalled that the United Kingdom recognized Israel more than 75 years ago as the homeland of the Jewish people and now joins the more than 140 countries that also recognize Palestine. According to the Prime Minister, this gesture is intended to be "a promise to the Palestinian and Israeli people that a better future can exist."

The current situation, however, is one of catastrophe, and the United Kingdom's historical responsibility is paramount. Because, in fact, it was in 1917 that Her Majesty's government issued the Balfour Declaration and promised a "Jewish national home" in Palestine without consulting the Arab majority living there.

In 1920, London received the British Mandate for Palestine from the League of Nations, which gave it colonial political and administrative control of the territory. As a metropolis, London favored Jewish immigration, harshly repressed Palestinian national aspirations, such as the so-called Great Arab Revolt (1936-1939), and, after World War II and the Holocaust, further limited Jewish settlement throughout the area. British repression weakened Palestinian society. In 1948, London abandoned an ethnically and religiously divided territory, and the Arab-Israeli War began. (1948-1949), immediately after the proclamation of the State of Israel. Something that coincided with Nakba, the forced exile of more than 700,000 Palestinians. Quite possibly, the partition of the territory of Palestine between a Jewish and an Arab state (which never existed), imposed by the victorious powers of World War II at the UN, would not have been possible without the previous British colonial administration.

Since then, London has maintained a formally ambiguous position, always leaning toward Israel and without promoting real solutions, much less one between both states, a solution that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not accept.

In fact, hours before the formal announcement, British Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, until two weeks ago Foreign Minister, admitted in a BBC interview that recognition of Palestine will not entail a ceasefire, nor humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, nor will it feed the hostages: "That?" Will that free the hostages? That should cause a ceasefire.

Starmer's words have been sufficiently measured, and he has sought not to step on anyone's toes. Therefore, he denounced, once again, the "brutality" of Hamas, and recalled that there are still hostages in the hands of the Palestinian organization. "They must be released immediately," he insisted, and warned that the two-state solution implies that Hamas "has no role in the government or security" of the Strip, and he announced new sanctions against figures linked to the group.

Likewise, because Starmer can no longer hide the evidence, he described as "intolerable" the effects of the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, which has caused tens of thousands of deaths and worsened a "man-made" humanitarian crisis. He called on Israel to lift border restrictions and allow the massive entry of aid.

The words coming out of London, Ottawa, or Canberra do nothing to prevent the escalation of destruction and murder in Gaza, nor the acceleration of settlement expansion in the West Bank. Recognition is an essential step toward reopening the path to serious negotiations. Israel is further isolated, but no one is stopping it.