UK backs future Palestinian statehood but says ceasefire the top priority

Britain supports eventual recognition of a Palestinian state, but the immediate priority should be alleviating the suffering in Gaza and securing a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, a British cabinet minister said Friday.

Successive British governments have said they would formally recognize a Palestinian state at the right time, without ever setting a timetable or specifying the conditions for it to happen.

"We want Palestinian statehood, we desire it, and we want to make sure the circumstances can exist where that kind of long-term political solution can have the space to evolve," British science and technology minister Peter Kyle told Sky News.

"But right now, today, we've got to focus on what will ease the suffering, and it is extreme, unwarranted suffering in Gaza that has to be the priority for us today."

His comments came after French President Emmanuel Macron said France intends to recognize a Palestinian state in September at the U.N. General Assembly, a plan that drew strong condemnation from Israel and the United States.


Reuters