Overview

• The government has tied its pledge to recognise Palestine at the UN General Assembly in September to conditions including a Gaza ceasefire, revival of two-state talks, and Hamas’s full disarmament and exit from Gaza governance.
• Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch and Labour MP Mike Tapp have publicly insisted that all Israeli hostages must be freed unconditionally before any formal recognition proceeds.
• Hostage families and allied groups are organising a National March for the Hostages in central London this weekend to demand release before statehood is granted.
• Dual British-Israeli survivor Emily Damari condemned the plan as a moral failure that rewards terror and undermines prospects for genuine peace.
• A senior Hamas official has welcomed the UK’s conditional recognition pledge as a boost for Palestinian self-determination ahead of the UN vote.