Trump says he disagrees with UK’s Starmer on recognition of Palestinian state
CHEQUERS: US President Donald Trump said on Thursday (Sep 18) he disagreed with Prime Minister Keir Starmer over Britain’s plan to recognise a Palestinian state, after the leaders met to discuss the war in Gaza.
“I have a disagreement with the prime minister on that score, one of our few disagreements,” Trump said at a press conference with Starmer at the UK leader’s country residence on the second full day of his state visit.
Starmer announced in July that Britain would move to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September unless Israel met conditions including a ceasefire in Gaza.
RARE DISAGREEMENT
The issue was one of the few sticking points in an otherwise united front put forward by Trump and Starmer.
The United States has opposed countries taking steps to recognise a Palestinian state, even as France, Canada and other Western allies prepare to do so at the United Nations next week.
The leaders also discussed the worsening situation in Gaza, with Starmer saying they agreed on “the need for peace and a road map”.
“I want an end. I want the hostages released,” Trump said, calling the war “complex”. He did not directly answer questions on whether he would press Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt air strikes.
GAZA CRISIS
Starmer described the situation in Gaza as “intolerable” and emphasised the “need to get aid into Gaza at speed”.
He added that recognising Palestinian statehood would form part of a wider “plan for peace”, including ensuring Hamas played no role in governance. He gave no details on the timing of formal recognition.
British media reported on Thursday that Starmer could finalise plans to recognise a Palestinian state as early as this weekend, ahead of the UN summit.
Of the 251 people taken hostage by Palestinian militants in October 2023, 47 remain in Gaza, including 25 confirmed dead by the Israeli military.
The Hamas assault killed 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 65,141 people, also mostly civilians, according to the territory’s health ministry figures that the United Nations considers reliable.
