Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Recognition of a Palestinian State

Tuesday 2 September 2025 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Chris Law questioned the UK Government's conditions for recognizing Palestine, asserting they have no basis in international law.
  • The Secretary of State defended the UK's approach, stating that conditions are necessary to encourage Israel to commit to a ceasefire and peace process.
  • Luke Myer inquired about assurances that Hamas would not play a role in the governance of a future Palestinian state if recognized by the UK.
  • The Foreign Secretary responded that Hamas must not be rewarded and that the UK will not recognize Palestine if Hamas fails to meet demands, including releasing all hostages.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Chris Law SNP Dundee Central
Foreign Affairs
Context

The UK Government has placed conditions on the recognition of Palestine, which Chris Law argues are not in line with international law. He references Israel's failure to comply with these conditions.

Question

The United Kingdom Government should never have placed conditions on the recognition of the state of Palestine—there is no place for it in international law. However, given that it is clear that Israel has failed to comply with these conditions, can the Secretary of State confirm that the UK will unconditionally and immediately recognise the state of Palestine at the UN General Assembly next week?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr David Lammy)

High-level week is not actually next week; it is in three weeks’ time. May I say to the hon. Gentleman that it is most bizarre to say to a responsible Government that they should not attempt to change the situation on the ground to encourage Israel to commit to a ceasefire and to a process? Of course we should use all diplomatic efforts to do that, notwithstanding what we said about the assessment we will make on recognition at the appropriate time.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific commitment to unconditionally recognize Palestine was avoided in favour of discussing diplomatic efforts and the timeline for high-level week.

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Q2 Luke Myer Lab Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
Foreign Affairs
Context

The UK Government has placed conditions on the recognition of Palestine, including demanding that Hamas release hostages. Luke Myer asks for assurances regarding Hamas's role in governance.

Question

We all want to see an end to the suffering and progress towards a two-state solution, but what assurance can the Foreign Secretary provide that in the recognition of Palestine there can be no role for Hamas in the governance of a Palestinian state?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr David Lammy)

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this issue. Let me be crystal clear. Hamas must never be rewarded, and we will not reward it by the UK’s recognition of Palestine if we reach that point. Our demands of Hamas are absolute and unchanged: it must immediately release all the hostages who were cruelly taken on 7 October 2023 and held in the most atrocious conditions, which we have already discussed in the Chamber this morning.

Answered
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