(Reuters) -Britain, Canada and Australia recognised a Palestinian state on Sunday in frustration over the Gaza war and hoping to promote a two-state solution.
Following are key quotes:
BRITISH PRIME MINISTER KEIR STARMER:
“Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two-state solution, the United Kingdom formally recognises the State of Palestine.
“The man-made humanitarian crisis in Gaza reaches new depths. The Israeli government’s relentless and increasing bombardment of Gaza, the offensive of recent weeks, the starvation and devastation are utterly intolerable.”
CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER MARK CARNEY:
“Canada recognises the State of Palestine and offers our partnership in building the promise of a peaceful future for both the State of Palestine and the State of Israel.”
ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU:
“I have a clear message to those leaders who recognise a Palestinian state after the horrific massacre of October 7: You are giving a huge reward to terrorism. And I have another message for you: It will not happen. A Palestinian state will not be established west of the Jordan River.”
PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT MAHMOUD ABBAS:
Said it would allow the “State of Palestine to live side by side with the State of Israel in security, peace, and good neighbourliness”.
HAMAS:
“We call on the international community, the United Nations, and its institutions to isolate this rogue entity (Israel) cease all forms of cooperation and coordination with it, escalate punitive measures against it, and work to bring its leaders, war criminals, to international courts and hold them accountable for their crimes against humanity.”
ISRAEL’S U.N. AMBASSADOR DANNY DANON:
“Empty declarations that ignore the reality and the sinister forces of our region do not advance anything. No declaration of any country will change the simple fact that before everything the hostages must be returned and that Hamas must be defeated. The defeat of Hamas and the end of the war will not be achieved by performative speeches at the UN, but by the sustained pressure and activities on the ground by the State of Israel.”
PALESTINIAN RESIDENT OF HEBRON IN THE WEST BANK, FAWZI NASAR:
“It is time for these countries to stop supporting the occupation and to show their position after watching the demolition, the genocide and the killing in Gaza City and all over the Strip. It is time for Britain to atone for the sins since Balfour declaration until now. We as Palestinians want to live like all the other people in the world.”
PALESTINIAN RESIDENT OF RAMALLAH IN THE WEST BANK, SALLAH ELDDIN:
“All the respect to the British people and the British government for this brave step. Britain today is adjusting the balance of power and righting the wrongs of the past, Palestinians have already paid a big price.”
ISRAELI FINANCE MINISTER BAZALEL SMOTRICH:
“The days when Britain and other countries would determine our future are over, the mandate is over, and the only answer to the anti-Israeli move is sovereignty over the homeland of the Jewish people in Judea and Samaria and removing the foolish idea of a Palestinian state from the agenda forever.”
ISRAELI OPPOSITION LEADER YAIR LAPID:
Lapid said in a post on X that the “unilateral” recognition of a Palestinian state was a reward for terrorism, but also put some of the blame on the Netanyahu government.
“A functioning Israeli government could have prevented this through professional diplomatic dialogue and proper diplomacy. The government that brought upon us the worst security disaster in our history is now also bringing upon us the most severe diplomatic crisis,” he said.
BRITISH OPPOSITION LEADER KEMI BADENOCH:
“We will all rue the day this decision was made … Rewarding terrorism with no conditions whatsoever put in place for Hamas. It leaves hostages languishing in Gaza and does nothing to stop the suffering of innocent people caught in this war.”
POLICY AND CAMPAIGNS MANAGER AT GLOBAL JUSTICE NOW, TIM BIERLEY:
“The recognition of Palestinian statehood is long overdue, but without meaningful action to hold Israel accountable, the UK’s actions are still horribly insufficient. The UK has real leverage, which could change things quickly: it should impose comprehensive, Russia-style economic sanctions and ban arms sales.”
(Complied by Christina FincherEditing by Gareth Jones and Ros Russell)
