‘You don’t negotiate with terror’ – British lawmakers warn recognition Palestinian state sets dangerous global precedent

A cross-party group of British officials has warned that the growing Western push to recognize a Palestinian state threatens to undermine core principles upheld by democratic nations.

“Britain didn’t hand over Northern Ireland to the IRA after Omagh,” stated former British Defense Secretary Sir Gavin Williamson.

“No Western country has ever legitimized a terror movement mid-conflict. If we do that now, we abandon the very principles we claim to defend,” he argued, and referenced the Omagh terrorist attack in 1998, when the terrorist organization, Real IRA, detonated a car bomb that killed 29 people and injured 220 in the Northern Ireland town.

He further warned that rewarding Hamas atrocities on Oct. 7, 2023, sets a potentially dangerous precedent.

“If this move goes forward without the hostages’ return, it will be remembered as the day the West broke its doctrine,” Williamson said.  “After 9/11, we told the world: you don’t negotiate with terror. But now we are not only negotiating – we are rewarding it.”

John Woodcock, Lord Walney, a British life peer and crossbench member of the House of Lords, expressed similar concerns.

“My fear is certainly that Hamas will interpret it as a validation of their strategy … and it can send the signal that there can be a reward for this brutality,” Lord Walney warned. He emphasized that Israel is an independent state facing an existential threat.

“We have to remember that we are not … this is not the British Mandate anymore,” he added.

“The era in which the UK could dictate terms in this region is long gone, and it’s dangerous to pretend otherwise. Israel is a sovereign democracy under existential threat. Outsiders dictating conditions – especially during war – do not bring peace, they make it harder,” Walney said.

Last month, French President Emmanuel Macron announced France's intention recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) this September.

"We must build the State of Palestine and ensure that, through its demilitarization and recognition by Israel, it contributes to the security of everyone in the Middle East," Macron stated.

The British Prime Minister Keir Starmer followed Macron by initially indicating that London would recognize a Palestinian state as part of a “wider regional plan” that would secure peace and security in the Middle East.

"Recognition of a Palestinian state has to be one of those steps. I am unequivocal about that. But it must be part of a wider plan which ultimately results in a two-state solution and lasting security for Palestinians and Israelis," Starmer said.

However, just a few days later, he walked back the remarks, exclusively blaming Israel for the Hamas-led war in Gaza. Starmer further warned that London would recognize a Palestinian state at UNGA unless Israel takes “substantive steps” to address the humanitarian aid crisis in the coastal enclave.

The U.S. and Israel have warned that such a diplomatic move amounts to a de facto reward for the Oct. 7 surprise invasion and attack carried out by Hamas, which continues to hold 50 hostages, both living and deceased, in Gaza. The IDF estimates that 20 of them are still alive.

Williamson blasted Starmer’s intentions, arguing that the decision “demonstrates a callous disregard, not only for the security of Israel, but a callous disregard for the security and the safety of all democratic nations.”

“Recognizing a Palestinian state while 50 hostages remain trapped in Hamas tunnels amounts to rewarding terrorism,” the bi-partisan British lawmakers warned. “Such recognition is not a step toward peace, but rather a clear violation of international law and a dangerous moral and political failure that legitimizes horrific war crimes.”

Williamson and Lord Walney further argued that rewarding terrorism sends the wrong message to the Iranian regime and its proxies in the Middle East.

“Wiser heads will be speaking to Keir Starmer,” Williamson said. “They’ll be trying to work out a way to dig him out of the enormous hole that he’s managed to dig himself.”

“If people share the view of a two-state solution … you have to approach it from a point of view of realism. Otherwise … you actively make it worse,” Walney warned.