The Prime Minister told an emergency Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that Britain would follow France’s lead in recognising a Palestinian state – if Israel failed to meet a list of demands including a commitment to delivering a two-state solution.

Israel would need to heed all of the UK Government’s demands, which also included a commitment to ending the annexation of Palestinian land in the West Bank and taking steps to ending the “appalling situation in Gaza” if it wishes to prevent Palestinian recognition.

It follows days of intense pressure on the Prime Minister, with nearly 40% of all MPs in the Commons demanding he took the step. 

According to a readout from the Cabinet meeting in Downing Street, Starmer said that he believed it necessary because of the “diminishing prospect of a peace process towards a two-state solution”. 

It added: “[Starmer] reiterated that there is no equivalence between Israel and Hamas and that our demands on Hamas remain, that they must release all the hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, accept that they will play no role in the government of Gaza, and disarm.”

The Prime Minister will make an “assessment” before the United Nations General Assembly beginning on September 9 “before making a final decision” to ensure that “no one side will have a veto”. 

The statement from No 10 added: “He reiterated that he had taken this action to protect the viability of the two-state solution, and that the immediate focus must be to get more aid urgently into Gaza, and that work would continue to bring allies on board with the plan that delivers a long-term settlement to the conflict.”

[[Gaza]] featured heavily in conversations Donald Trump had with Keir Starmer during his trip to Scotland and the announcement came just after the US president began his journey back to America.