British PM meets Palestinian Authority chief; they agree no role for Hamas in future governance

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in London, as the UK government edges towards recognizing a Palestinian state.

The leaders discussed “the need for an urgent solution to end the horrific suffering and famine” in Gaza and the release of hostages held by the Hamas terror group, a spokesperson for Starmer’s Downing Street office says in a statement.

Abbas welcomed the UK’s “pledge to recognizing a Palestinian state ahead of the UN General Assembly meeting later this month, unless Israel changes its course,” the spokesperson adds.

Several countries, including Britain and France, have announced they intend to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations later this month. Starmer’s government has said it will take the step if Israel fails to agree to a ceasefire in the war, triggered by Hamas’s October 2023 onslaught, or doesn’t take “substantive” steps to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and commit to a long-term, sustainable peace.

His meeting with Abbas “is part of the prime minister’s ongoing efforts to reach a political solution to the ongoing conflict in Gaza,” Downing Street said ahead of the bilateral.

During their talks, both leaders “agreed there will be absolutely no role for Hamas in the future governance of Palestine” and reiterated the need for a “long-term solution” to the conflict.

Starmer “welcomed” Abbas’s “commitment to reform of the Palestinian Authority as a vital part of this work,” his office says.

Abbas, 89, arrived in London on Sunday night for a three-day visit.

He has been barred from attending the UN General Assembly in New York by the US State Department.