An open letter to Keir Starmer: Recognition emboldens terror and betrays its victims

This is not a theoretical debate about peace plans. Every month, Abbas signs the cheque that pays the families of the men who murdered my family. Britain has been funding the Palestinian Authority to the tune of tens of millions of pounds over the past decade. That means that, while the killers of my wife and children – who were British citizens – are being paid salaries by Abbas, they are effectively being financed by the British taxpayer.

Meanwhile, no compensation, no acknowledgement, and no justice has been offered to the British victims of those British-funded terrorists.

You write that recognition “rejects extremists who fantasise about Israel’s destruction.” But Prime Minister, these extremists are not fantasising – they are openly funded! Abbas calls them “martyrs.” He celebrates them in textbooks, in television broadcasts, and in public squares named after killers. By giving his Palestinian Authority a state, you are not weakening Hamas, but strengthening the ecosystem that supports Hamas terror.

You assure Israelis that the new state will be “demilitarised.” But who will enforce that? President Abbas cannot even control his own towns that shelter Hamas terror cells, and he legitimises their terror with salary payments. Recognition of a Palestinian state under Mahmoud Abbas tells the Palestinian people that they need no political reform, and can continue to incite and fund murderers, with the reward of statehood.

You argue that this decision keeps hope alive, but it also rewards terror and incitement. Peace between Palestinians and Israelis depends not on premature declarations from London, but on the requirement that Palestinians first stop teaching hatred and paying blood money to terrorists. If you respect the wishes of the Palestinian people, you should remind their corrupt and unelected government of the need for democratic elections – delayed for the past 20 years by Mahmoud Abbas. Without these requirements, recognising a Palestinian state led by a corrupt leader only reinforces the message that killing Jews pays, and it pays well.

Prime Minister: peace requires accountability, honesty, and the courage to confront uncomfortable truths. By recognising a Palestinian state led by Mahmoud Abbas, while he continues to finance the families of my wife and daughters’ killers with British taxpayers’ money, you are not advancing peace.You are effectively subsidising murder, and betraying your own citizens in the process. Recognition is not only the wrong step – it is a dangerous step in the wrong direction.

You ended your traditional Jewish New Year message with a wish for a sweet new year. For my family, and for all Israelis, sweetness will come only when the world insists that Palestinian leaders stop financing murder and start preparing their people for peaceful coexistence. Anything less is betrayal dressed up as diplomacy.

Respectfully,

Rabbi Leo Dee

Rabbi Leo Dee is an educator living in Efrat. His book “Transforming the World: The Jewish

Impact on Modernity” was republished in English and Hebrew in memory of his wife Lucy and daughters Maia and Rina, who were murdered by terrorists in April 2023