A dark thread connects Britain's accommodating international policies with the dangers facing the country's domestic future.
In his op-ed for Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth on Rosh Hashana eve, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer labored to explain to the Israeli public the considerations behind his Labour government's recognition of a Palestinian state. On one point, his article rings true: the United Kingdom's recognition initiative, after decades of consistent rejection of unilateral moves, has indeed sparked considerable anger among the Israeli public.
Starmer emerges as a well-intentioned and reasonable leader — yet not sophisticated enough when it comes to foreign policy. European naivety, thousands of miles away from the tough neighborhood in the world, known as the Middle East, is present in some actions of his government at this time, both domestically and internationally. For those of us visiting London's streets, the pervasive sense of losing British streets to forces hostile to the Kingdom's culture and heritage is no trivial matter: a dark thread connects Britain's accommodating foreign policy calls, alongside the internal challenges facing the country's future.
Most British citizens understand this. According to recently published polls, the overwhelming majority of the British public opposes recognition of a Palestinian state. This represents yet another expression of growing criticism toward the Labour government across various issues, including immigration policy.
In his article, which recalls the pre-Oct. 7 years more than the post-Oct. 7 reality, Starmer insists on ignoring the dramatic fundamental changes that have occurred in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and attempts to chart a new reality with old tools, a proposal destined to crash against the face of reality.
The British prime minister is mistaken in outlining the Palestinian state on at least three levels:
First, his assertion that Hamas will be removed politically from the Palestinian arena and unable to compete in elections represents a forced attempt to normalize Palestinian society, which is not ready for democratic rules — a European wishful thinking to sideline extremist elements, which reminds its approach to other arenas in the region and beyond. This occurs while the essential challenge lies in the fact that Hamas has gained broad support among the Palestinian public, both in Gaza and the West Bank.
Second, Starmer declares the Palestinian state will be demilitarized. This is a fantastic, seemingly pro-Israeli assertion drawn more from European political science practices rather than from biting Middle Eastern reality and past experiences.
Avi KaloPhoto: Aloni MorBeyond the fact that the challenge of demilitarization in hostile territory is almost an impossible mission (one need only observe what is happening in the Gaza Strip to understand), demilitarization is not merely a symmetric matter of tanks and fighter jets, as Starmer suggests. Guerrilla warfare, with its available means and focus on rocket terror, is not a matter for "demilitarization" but requires vast Israeli control over crossings leading to that Palestinian state, as well as military freedom of action in the territory itself — hardly an enabling platform for an independent and sovereign Palestinian state.
Third, perhaps the most weak and troubling argument is the claim that recognizing a Palestinian state is not a reward for terror and that London continues to sanction Hamas internationally. One need only watch Hamas celebrations under every rotten tree to understand how much this statement is a complete farce. As has been written here before, "Black September" has blossomed.
Prime Minister Starmer's utopian wishful thinking may merit discussion but is deeply challenging on the ground from many aspects. In the style of the legendary Israeli soccer broadcaster Yoram Arbel's famous phrase "this is no way to build a wall," indeed "this is no way to build a state" — certainly not a state without a healthy and solid foundation that could enable its establishment, as well as its stability and function as an independent political entity for years ahead, beyond Isreal’s narrow borders' capacity.
The expectation for establishing a Palestinian state in the foreseeable future primarily reflects Europe's lack of intellectual maturity for critical and open-minded, less biased discussion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the post-October 7 era and, simultaneously, constitutes a resounding historical failure joining a series of blunders that will seal Prime Minister Netanyahu's legacy.
First published: 15:39, 09.26.25