Starmer talks Gaza, Palestinian statehood in calls with Netanyahu, Abbas

Newly elected Prime Minister Kier Starmer put the Gaza war and a two-state solution high on his foreign policy agenda, with calls to both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday.

Starmer underscored Great Britain’s commitment to recognizing Palestinian statehood in his conversation with Abbas.

He noted that Great Britain could recognize Palestinian statehood during the process for a two-state solution rather than at the end of one.

It’s a stance that had been held by former Foreign Secretary David Cameron from the Conservative Party, but who had said that the time to do so was not now.

Starmer brought the issue up in his first phone call with Abbas. A readout of the call from 10 Downing Street framed it this way: “Discussing the importance of reform, and ensuring international legitimacy for Palestine, the Prime Minister said that his longstanding policy on recognition to contribute to a peace process had not changed, and it was the undeniable right of Palestinians.”

Abbas affirmed his commitment to a two-state resolution to the conflict and underscored the importance of British unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood, according to WAFA, the Palestine News & Information Agency.

WAFA further reported that newly appointed Foreign Secretary David Lammy would soon visit the region, including the West Bank.

Calls made by the UK’s new PM

Starmer’s calls with Netanyahu and Abbas were the 14th and 15th ones he made to heads of government or international blocs since taking office on Friday. His first call was to US President Joe Biden, his second was to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his third was to European Union European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The British politician swept into office on Friday as the head of the left-wing Labour Party, marking a dramatic upset for the United Kingdom which has been ruled by the right-wing Conservative Party since 2010. 

Starmer had worked since his wresting of the party’s helm from its former leader Jeremy Corbyn, to distance Labour from the anti-Israel and antisemitic accusations leveled against it during the Corbyn years. 

He alluded to that transformation in his victory speech on Thursday night, when he said it took four-and-a-half years to change the party.

“This is what it is for, a changed Labour Party,” he said.

Pundits have speculated that Starmer, whose wife Victoria is Jewish will maintain the strong Israeli-British ties, but would be more critical of Israel with respect to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Former British prime minister Rishi Sunak had been one of Israel’s staunch allies during these last nine months when it has fought Iranian proxies on its southern and northern borders.

Great Britain was also one of five armies that took to the skies in April to defend Israel against an Iranian drone and missile attack. 

Starmer told Netanyahu he looked forward to “further deepening the close relationship between the two countries” as the two men discussed the “importance of regional security in the Middle East,” according to Downing Street.

The British Prime Minister said he was “committed to continuing the UK and Israel’s vital cooperation to deter malign threats,” Downing Street said in its readout of the call. Starmer also said he was concerned by the cross-border violence between the IDF and Hezbollah as he called on all parties to act cautiously.

Lammy told Reuters he wanted a balanced position on the war in the Middle East and would use diplomatic efforts to ensure a ceasefire is reached and the remaining 120 hostages held by Hamas are released.

“The time has come for the United Kingdom to reconnect with the outside world,” Lammy said in an interview in Berlin.

“I want to get back to a balanced position on Israel and Gaza. We’ve been very clear that we want to see a ceasefire … We want to see those hostages out.”

He added: “The fighting has to stop, the aid has got to get in, and I will use all diplomatic efforts to ensure that we get to that ceasefire.”

Lammy did not elaborate.

Reuters contributed to this report.