Why is the U.K.’s stand on Palestine significant? | Explained

The story so far: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced last week that his government would recognise the state of Palestine during the coming UN General Assembly session in September unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza, allows more humanitarian aid and commits itself towards long-term peace based on the two-state formula.

What have other countries announced?

Mr. Starmer’s remarks came shortly after French President Emmanuel Macron declared that Paris would recognise Palestinian statehood in September. Canada and Portugal have also expressed their intention to do the same. As the 21-month-long war on Gaza rages on, Israel is facing one of its biggest diplomatic crises with more and more countries in the West, Israel’s traditional allies, adopting a favourable position towards Palestinian statehood.

How significant is this recognition drive?

Of the 193 UN member states, 147 have already recognised the state of Palestine. Until now, powerful Western countries had resisted such recognition, insisting it should be part of a final diplomatic settlement to the Israel-Palestine conflict. But that position is beginning to shift. Among the five members of the UN Security Council, Russia and China have already recognised Palestine. If France and the U.K. follow through with their recent statements, the U.S., Israel’s closest ally and patron, will be isolated at the Council. France, the U.K. and Canada are also members of the G7 group of advanced economies, and their recognition could influence other countries to follow suit. Britain’s move, in particular, carries historic weight, given its central role in the Israel-Palestine question. In the 1917 Balfour Declaration, Britain became the first major power to endorse the Zionist demand for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

What is the Balfour Declaration?

The declaration was issued by Sir Arthur Balfour, the British Foreign Secretary, on November 2, 1917, addressed to Lord Lionel Walter Rothschild, a Zionist and leader of the British Jewish community. In the letter, written in the midst of the First World War, Balfour stated: “His Majesty’s government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object.” Jews in Europe had already started migrating to Palestine, which was part of the Ottoman Empire until the end of the First World War, in the late 19th century. By the time the Balfour Declaration was issued, there were roughly 60,000 Jews in Palestine, accounting for over 9% of the total population. Zionist leaders then argued that the only viable solution to the ‘Jewish question’ was the establishment of a national home in Palestine.

Earlier, in 1903, British Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain had proposed the Uganda Plan, offering support to create a Jewish homeland in British East Africa. Some early Zionists, including Theodor Herzl, welcomed the proposal, which was eventually dropped. But in the Balfour Declaration, the British government, which wanted the support of global Jews for its war efforts in the First World War against imperial Germany and the Ottoman Empire, officially endorsed the Zionist claim over Palestine. The U.S. would soon support the declaration. This was a defining moment in the history of Zionism.

What did Britain do after the war?

While Britain pledged support for a Jewish home ‘in Palestine’, it had also promised to support Arab independence if the Arabs revolted against the Ottomans. But Britain and France had already entered into a secret agreement (Sykes-Picot) to divide the Ottoman lands once the war was over. After the war, Britain established a colonial administration in Palestine under the League of Nations Mandate. Over the following decades, Jewish migration to Palestine intensified. The Jewish community in Palestine began building their own institutions, from trade unions and industries to paramilitary groups and administrative frameworks. By the end of the Second World War, Jews made up 30% of the population.

Britain had concluded in the late 1930s that the mandate was unworkable, and supported the partition of Palestine. After the war, Britain informed the UN of its intention to end the Mandate, which was set to expire on May 15, 1948. On May 14, Zionist leaders unilaterally declared the state of Israel. Within minutes, the U.S. recognised the state. The declaration immediately triggered the First Arab Israel war.

Why will Britain recognise Palestine now?

Given the historical role Britain has played in the crisis, a British recognition of the state of Palestine, 108 years after the Balfour Declaration was issued, assumes enormous symbolic significance. It may not have an immediate impact on Israel’s occupation of Palestine, but it clearly reflects a change in London’s policy towards Israel and Palestine. As Israel is facing accusations of committing genocide against Palestinians, and images of Gaza’s devastation and starving children are coming out, it becomes untenable for many Western nations to continue to back Israel unconditionally.