The Foreign Secretary has told the families of British hostages held in Gaza that the government’s plans to recognise a Palestinian state this month will proceed regardless of whether their relatives are released from Hamas captivity.
In a meeting on Tuesday with the families of eight British and British-connected hostages, David Lammy was asked directly whether the UK could recognise a Palestinian state while hostages were still being held.
Lammy responded with a definitive “yes”.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has confirmed that recognition will proceed this month unless there is a substantial change of course from the Israeli government. In a statement outlining the policy, Starmer said the UK’s message to Hamas was “unchanged and unequivocal”.
“They must immediately release all the hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, disarm and accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza.”
But it now appears that the UK’s recognition of a Palestinian state is not contingent on any action by Hamas.
Following the meeting with Lammy, the lawyers representing the UK and UK-linked hostages and their families, Adam Wagner KC and Adam Rose, released a statement on behalf of the families accusing the government of “applying pressure only on one side” during ceasefire negotiations.
“The UK should apply pressure to both Israel and Hamas, including their leadership, to reach a ceasefire,” the families said.
They added it was “not clear what pressure, if any, the UK is placing on Hamas to release the hostages.”
They questioned whether any sanctions were being imposed on Hamas and asked why no conditions had been attached to the terror group in relation to Palestinian recognition.
“What additional sanctions or any other measures are being imposed on Hamas or its funders and supporters? Why have no conditions been placed on Hamas in relation to recognition?
“The UK must apply more pressure on Hamas, including on those countries that continue to work with Hamas, to get all of the hostages freed. We want to see sanctions, arrest warrants and other punitive measures. We hope to be making this demand to others in power in the UK in the coming days. Tomorrow may be too late: the UK must act now.”
They stressed that the hostage families with connections to the UK hold a range of views and does not have a collective position on Palestinian statehood.
The families added: “What unites us is the continued demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all the hostages still held by Hamas – of the two hostages with very close British connections and of the other 46.
“The living hostages are being starved and tortured by Hamas and need to be released before it too late. This is beyond urgent.”
They also noted that Lammy’s direct answer to the question over statehood and the hostages had been “avoided” by officials in previous meetings.
Lammy reportedly told the group that recognition of Palestine was not a “prize” for Hamas, which he described as a “brutal terrorist organisation.”
He said no final decision had yet been made on the move to recognise the state, and that recognition would be a “process”, and even if taken, would not amount to “recognition by anyone on day one”.
Those at the meeting included family members of released British-Israeli Emily Damari and murdered British-Israeli Nadav Popplewell, as well as British-connected Avinatan Or, Yossi Sharabi, Eli Sharabi, Channah Peri, and Yocheved Lifshitz, and Oded Lifshitz.
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