Netanyahu adviser attacks Starmer as UK set to recognize Palestinian state

London — Ophir Falk, a senior adviser to Benjamin Netanyahu, blasted Sir Keir Starmer on Monday for derailing hostage-release negotiations and rewarding terror as the United Kingdom moves toward recognizing a Palestinian state. In an unusually public intervention, Falk told the Daily Mail that Starmer's position amounts to complete moral bankruptcy and urged him to come to his senses as the British government prepares a historic policy shift.

The prime minister is set to announce recognition of a Palestinian state this afternoon even as 48 hostages remain in Hamas custody in Gaza, according to Israeli and Palestinian sources familiar with the talks. Falk asserted that Starmer’s stance had directly affected the negotiations, claiming it helped derail an imminent deal to free hostages and sending a message to Hamas that terror could be rewarded. He argued that the timing sent a dangerous signal and urged the Labour leader to reconsider before the move goes ahead.

Falk tied the expected UK decision to a broader international pattern, saying that Britain, France and Canada were complicit in a failure to end the war by not tying recognition to concessions from Hamas. He argued that in July, when negotiations appeared close, Hamas walked away after seeing what he described as a perception that Western leaders, including Macron and Starmer, were yielding to mediation terms while Gaza endured a starvation campaign. Falk urged Starmer to align with what he framed as a tougher stance from former U.S. president Donald Trump rather than joining a position he characterized as appeasing allied leaders.

The Palestinian Authority, led by Mahmoud Abbas, does not recognize Israel as a Jewish state, Falk noted, and he criticized several of its programs, including stipends paid to families of Palestinians killed or imprisoned in attacks against Israelis. He claimed none of Starmer’s conditions for accountability against Abbas had been met and asserted that the PA continues to reject recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. Falk added that such state recognition would be a break with decades of British foreign policy that tied recognition to progress toward a peace agreement and a viable two-state solution.

The move drew immediate reactions from across the region and beyond. Hamas described any recognition as one of the fruits of October 7, the day its militants attacked Israeli civilians, while Israel’s war for its own survival has produced a mounting toll of Palestinian casualties according to the Hamas-run health authority, which does not distinguish between civilian and militant deaths. Israel has rejected the higher casualty figures cited by Palestinian sources and international bodies that characterize Israel’s actions as disproportionately harsh in Gaza. Falk asserted that the scale of the war and the humanitarian crisis demanded accountability from Western leaders and argued that recognition without a ceasefire or a credible peace path undermined the hostage release effort.

Internationally, several allies have faced scrutiny for their responses to the Gaza war. A JL Partners poll conducted in recent weeks showed a significant public gap between opinion and government policy on recognition, with a large minority or majority not supporting Starmer’s approach. Israelis have expressed frustration at what they see as leaders’ reluctance to press Hamas on the hostages’ release, arguing that a breakthrough on hostages could end the conflict tomorrow if Hamas laid down its arms and freed the captives. Families of British-linked hostages delivered a letter to Downing Street urging restraint on any recognition until loved ones are back home.

Beyond the hostage issue, a United Nations commission of inquiry earlier this week concluded that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, a claim Israel denounced as distorted and false. Separately, the Gaza Strip has faced severe shortages and deprivation amid the war, with international observers and aid groups warning of a humanitarian catastrophe. Falk dismissed those allegations as libel and claimed they fueled antisemitism, arguing that such charges distort the facts on the ground and undermine efforts to achieve peace.

The policy shift would mark a major change in British foreign policy, which historically tied recognition of a Palestinian state to meaningful progress in a negotiated settlement with Israel. Falk’s intervention underscores the high-stakes political calculus behind the move, which Prime Minister Sunak’s government says is intended to support a two-state solution while signaling a long-term commitment to Palestinian statehood. Supporters of recognition argue that recognizing a state could help unlock diplomacy and accelerate a ceasefire, while opponents warn it could complicate hostage negotiations and harden positions on both sides.

As the UN General Assembly approaches and world leaders prepare to respond, the question remains whether recognition will alter the dynamics in Gaza or whether it will instead harden positions and precipitate a broader diplomatic rift. With 48 hostages still believed to be in Hamas custody and ongoing raids and airstrikes continuing in Gaza, the immediate humanitarian and security implications of any policy shift are central to the debate. Falk’s remarks, while airing a rare high-profile rebuke from Netanyahu’s circle, are part of a broader war of words over accountability, security, and the prospect of a lasting peace in the region.