More than 100 years after the Balfour Declaration backed “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people”, and 77 years after the creation of Israel in the British Mandate of Palestine, the United Kingdom is set to formally recognise a Palestinian state.Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to make the announcement on Sunday, two days before the start of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), where Palestinian sovereignty after decades of occupation and apartheid by Israel will be in focus.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listThe move comes after the UK government said in July that it would shift its longstanding approach of holding off recognition until a supposed moment of maximum impact – unless Israel stops its genocidal war in Gaza, commits to a long-term sustainable peace process that delivers a two-state solution, and allows more aid into the enclave.But the catastrophic situation in Gaza has only grown significantly more dire over the past few weeks, as the Israeli military continues to systematically destroy Gaza City to seize it, while continuing to starve and displace the famine-stricken population of the enclave.Daily raids by Israeli soldiers and attacks by settlers are also ongoing across the occupied West Bank, with Israel advancing plans to annex the Palestinian territory and “bury” the idea of a contiguous Palestinian state with occupied East Jerusalem as its capital.The Israeli government has blasted the UK allies as well as more than 75 percent of UN member states that formally recognise Palestinian sovereignty, claiming their stance “rewards terrorism”. Advertisement Britain’s deputy prime minister said on Sunday that recognising a Palestinian state would not bring one into existence “overnig …
