Recognition of Palestine
Responding to the official recognition of Palestine by the UK on 21st September 2025, Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat leader, said:
"This is an historic day. Recognising the right of Palestinians to their self-determination has been long overdue. It is a great step forward and something that Liberal Democrats have been campaigning for for almost a decade. But this is not the end of the road. The humanitarian catastrophe across Gaza and the West Bank continues to devastate lives - both for the hostages held in Hamas’ captivity and Palestinians suffering across the Occupied Territories.
The Government now needs to follow through and do all it can to secure a ceasefire, an end to the cycle of violence and a two-state solution which is the only way to ensure a permanent end to the conflict. I hope the PM will be at the UN General Assembly to help drive progress towards a ceasefire and a two-state solution.”
Recognising the state of Palestine is a step the Liberal Democrats have long championed, including through Layla Moran’s Palestine Statehood (Recognition Bill) which was presented on 23rd October 2024.
147 of the UN's 193 members already formally recognised a Palestinian state. It was imperative that the UK should be part of that group - joining international partners like France and Canada who were also moving towards recognition. This would evidence our commitment to the self-determination of the Palestinian people - and to a Palestinian state in which there is no role for the Hamas terrorists.
In July 2025, I co-signed, along with my Liberal Democrat colleagues, a cross-party letter by Sarah Champion MP calling for the UK to recognise a Palestinian state.
On 29th July, Keir Starmer announced the UK would recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel agreed to a Gaza ceasefire along with other conditions - including allowing aid into Gaza. The formal recognition of Palestine which thereafter took place on 21st September has been warmly welcomed by the Liberal Democrats, but we continue to urge the Prime Minister to apply pressure on Israel by fully ceasing arms sales, and to implement sanctions against the Israeli cabinet. So too must the UK Government urge Hamas to unconditionally release the hostages.
We want to work with the peace-builders in Israel and Palestine who call for two-states, and to wrestle control away from the extremes. We're calling on the government to work with the international community to identify future democratic leaders of Palestine, with a view to having swift elections in Palestine as soon as possible in the hope of uniting Gaza and the West Bank under one democratically elected voice. We believe that investing in peace, such as via the International Fund for Middle East Peace, and using trade as a tool for peace, will ensure that Palestinians and Israelis benefit.