LAWYERS CAUTION BRITISH GOVERNMENT ON PLAN TO RECOGNIZE PALESTINIAN STATE . (PHOTO).

 Lawyers caution British Government on plan to recognize Palestinian State 

British lawmakers, including 43 members of the House of Lords, have warned Prime Minister Keir Starmer that his proposal to recognize a Palestinian state could breach international law. In a letter sent Thursday, the peers argued that Palestine does not meet the internationally accepted legal standards required for statehood, as outlined in the 1933 Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States. This treaty, signed by the United States and several Latin American countries, sets out that a recognized state must have a permanent population, an effective government, and the capacity to conduct relations with other states. The peers contended that while Palestine has a defined population, it lacks both a unified government and clearly defined borders, making the proposed recognition legally problematic. They pointed to the ongoing division between Fatah in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza, noting that Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization and that Fatah has not held elections in decades.

The Lords urged Attorney General Lord Hermer to advise Starmer against taking this step, arguing that it would contradict his previous statements that British foreign policy adheres strictly to international law. In response, government officials argued that the UK is not a signatory to the Montevideo Convention and highlighted that more than 140 other nations have already recognized a Palestinian state. Business minister Gareth Thomas said that Britain supports the idea of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with land swaps and a shared capital in Jerusalem, calling these “well-regarded international views.” However, Lady Deech, a legal scholar and chair of the House of Lords Appointments Commission, countered that the Montevideo principles have become customary international law regardless of Britain’s non-signatory status. She also emphasized that Palestinians have rejected previous statehood offers on multiple occasions over the past seventy years. Amid these legal criticisms, Starmer refrained from addressing the matter directly. Instead, he responded to criticism from British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari, who has been held by Hamas for over a year, saying he remains committed to advocating for the release of hostages while also pressing for aid to reach civilians suffering in Gaza.