British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday said his government was recognizing a Palestinian state after claiming that Israel failed to meet conditions, including a ceasefire in the nearly two-year-old Gaza war sparked by the terrorist group Hamas’ invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

“Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two-state solution, the United Kingdom formally recognises the State of Palestine,” the British prime minister and Labour party leader said on X.

London’s step aligns it with more than 140 other nations but will irk both Israel and its main ally the United States.

According to Reuters, the decision “carries symbolic weight as Britain played a major role in Israel’s creation as a modern nation in the aftermath of World War Two and has long been its ally.”

Canada and Australia also recognized a Palestinian state on Sunday and other countries are expected to do so this week at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Reuters continued: “In a move that put Starmer at odds with U.S. President Donald Trump, Britain had issued Israel with an ultimatum in July saying it would recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel took steps to end the “appalling situation” in Gaza.”

Quoting Husam Zomlot, the head of the Palestinian mission in London, the decision a “long-overdue recognition” that “is not about Palestine, but about Britain’s fulfilment of a solemn responsibility”.

Starmer warned last July that his government would recognize a Palestinian state unless Israel reached a ceasefire with Hamas, allowed more humanitarian aid to enter the enclave and would preclude an annexation of the West Bank. London also demanded a peace process delivering a two-state solution.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this month accused countries that recognize a Palestinian state of rewarding “Hamas’s monstrous terrorism”.

Israeli reaction

A first reaction by Israel was swift, with the initial “salvo” fired by the country’s ministry of foreign affairs in the X platform.