UK’s ‘vision for peace’ could now involve Hamas hostages rotting in tunnels, say lawyers

On Tuesday, Sir Keir Starmer announced that the government would recognise a Palestinian state in September, a major shift in existing government policy, “unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, agree to a ceasefire and commit to a long-term, sustainable peace, reviving the prospect of a two-state solution”.

He also made demands that Hamas release hostages and disarm. However, despite saying that an “assessment” would be made prior to any formal move to recognise a Palestinian state, the government has not explicitly ruled out doing so even if the terrorist group continues to hold Israeli hostages.

Rose and Wagner added: “In other words, the ‘vision for peace’ which the UK is pursuing, and which the families heard much about last night, may well involve our clients' family members continuing to rot in Hamas dungeons, just as British and British-linked hostages Emily Damari and Eli Sharabi did before them.”

They went on: “The UK's ‘vision for peace’ will fail if, at its heart, there is no place for the 50 remaining hostages, 20 of whom are thought to be alive including Avinatan Or, whose mother is British. 665 days on from 7 October 2023, the families' priority is to keep the hostages above political games.”

During the meeting, Ayelet Svatitzky, whose two British citizen brothers Nadav (a former hostage murdered in captivity) and Roi Popplewell (who was murdered on October 7) – and whose mother Chana Peri was released from Hamas captivity in November 2023 – said: "This is a prize to Hamas for the murder of my two brothers".

The lawyers raised the distressing footage released by Palestinian Islamic Jihad of Rom Braslavski, where he said he was “the brink of death”.

They implored Sir Keir Starmer to “change course before it is too late” and urged them to be explicit that “without the hostages being released, there can be no peace, and that this will be an important part of its decision as to whether to proceed with recognition and its current plan”.

Commenting on the lawyers’ statement, Conservative shadow attorney general Lord Wolfson said that the Foreign Secretary David Lammy, the Attorney General Lord Hermer and the prime minister “are highly qualified lawyers. But they’ve each failed a basic moral test”.

He added in a post on X: “I think this is a shameful policy. But what’s even more shameful is that neither Lammy nor Starmer had the guts to explain this was the policy - or defend it - in any of the interviews they’ve given on the subject. They left it to officials.”

Lord Walney, the government’s former independent adviser on political violence and disruption urged the prime minister to “stamp his authority” on what he called a “disturbing mess”.

He added: “This must be devastating for families of hostages … This is surely not what the politicians want, particularly those who personally pledged support to hostages.”

Prior to Thursday’s meeting, Rose and Wagner had urged the government to clearly spell out whether the government would make recognition of a Palestinian state dependent on Hamas’ release of hostages held by Hamas.

Before Tuesday’s announcement on recognition, Starmer and the government had been under significant pressure – including from senior figures and elected officials in the Labour Party – to immediately recognise a Palestinian state.

Both Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage have criticised Starmer’s decision. The Tory leader accused him of “placating the sectarian special interest groups that seek to further an Islamist and anti-Western agenda because he knows that without their votes there is no Labour majority” in a column in the Times.

The Foreign Office has been contacted for comment.