- Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned the UK’s recognition of Palestine, calling it “an absurd prize for terrorism”
- The move has sparked fierce backlash from Israeli officials, who argue it rewards Hamas for the deadly October 2023 attacks
- As tensions mount, domestic protests and international divisions deepen over the future of a Palestinian state and the fate of Israeli hostages
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fiercely criticised the United Kingdom’s formal recognition of Palestine, describing the move as “an absurd prize for terrorism” and warning of diplomatic retaliation.
Netanyahu told ministers that Israel would “fight both in the UN and in all the other fronts against the slanderous propaganda aimed at us, and against the calls to create a Palestinian state that will endanger our existence and constitute an absurd prize for terrorism”.
Source: Getty Images
The Israeli foreign ministry echoed the sentiment in a post on X, stating that the UK’s decision was “nothing but a reward for jihadist Hamas”.
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The post added:
“Hamas leaders themselves openly admit: this recognition is a direct outcome, the ‘fruit’ for the October 7 massacre. Don’t let Jihadist ideology dictate your policy.”
Israeli officials have repeatedly argued in recent weeks that international recognition of Palestine, particularly by Western allies such as the UK, France, Canada, and Portugal, emboldens Hamas and undermines Israel’s security.
Analysts warn of strategic consequences
Yaakov Amidror, a former national security adviser to Netanyahu and now an analyst at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, said Hamas could now claim that its 2023 attack, which killed approximately 1,200 people, directly led to the UK’s recognition of Palestine.
“It will be understood as a reward to them,” Amidror stated, adding that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer “has lost any leverage that he had … and [a Palestinian state] is not going to happen anyway”.
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Amidror also warned that some international allies appeared to favour Hamas’s survival over Israel’s security, saying, “There is a gap here that cannot be bridged with nice words.”
Domestic pressure mounts on Netanyahu
Despite the government’s hardline stance, opinion polls in Israel have shown growing public support for a negotiated resolution to the Gaza conflict.
Netanyahu’s coalition, the most rightwing in Israel’s history, has seen its popularity erode further following his recent call for Israelis to embrace the country’s increasing international isolation and become a “super-Sparta”.
Over the weekend, tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets demanding a deal to secure the release of hostages taken during the October 2023 Hamas raid.
A coalition of families representing the hostages condemned the UK’s recognition, stating it was “turning a blind eye to the fact that 48 hostages remain in Hamas captivity”.
Opposition blames Netanyahu for diplomatic fallout
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Yair Golan, leader of the opposition Democrats party, described the UK’s recognition as a “grave political failure” by Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
“This is a direct result of Netanyahu’s political recklessness: refusal to end the war and the dangerous choice of occupation and annexation,” Golan said.
He argued that a demilitarised Palestinian state should be part of a broader regional arrangement led by Israel to ensure its security.
Far-right pushes for West Bank annexation
In response to the UK’s move, Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for full annexation of the occupied West Bank.
Smotrich declared on X:
“The days when Britain and other countries would determine our future are over … The only response to this anti-Israeli move is sovereignty over the historic homeland of the Jewish people in Judea and Samaria, and permanently removing the folly of a Palestinian state from the agenda.”
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Netanyahu is expected to clarify Israel’s official response following his upcoming trip to Washington later this month, where he will meet with President Donald Trump and attend the UN General Assembly.
Source: Getty Images
Britain recognises Palestinian state
Legit.ng earlier reported that Britain formally recognised the State of Palestine on Sunday, citing Israel’s failure to meet conditions including a ceasefire in the nearly two-year-old Gaza war.
The announcement, made by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, signalled a significant shift in UK foreign policy and carried symbolic weight given Britain’s historic role in the creation of modern Israel following World War Two.
Source: Legit.ng
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