UK set to recognize Palestinian statehood today

• The UK is set to recognize a Palestinian state later today after Israel failed to meet conditions set out by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, including agreeing to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

• The announcement will come despite pressure from US politicians and the families of hostages held by Hamas. Israel says recognizing a Palestinian state is tantamount to rewarding terror.

• Canada and France also plan to recognize a Palestinian state at next week’s UN General Assembly as international pressure builds on Israel over the ongoing war and starvation crisis in Gaza.

• Elsewhere today on the ground, dozens of people have been reported killed as the Israeli military presses on with operations in the Gaza City area.

-CNN

Australia announces formal recognition of Palestinian state

Australia has just followed Canada’s lead in officially recognizing the “independent and sovereign” State of Palestine.

“In doing so, Australia recognises the legitimate and long held aspirations of the people of Palestine to a state of their own,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Affairs minister Penny Wong said in a joint statement.

Australia’s recognition of Palestine is part of a “co-ordinated international effort to build new momentum for a two-state solution, starting with a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the hostages taken in the atrocities of October 7, 2023,” the statement added.

-CNN