UK rewarding Hamas, says mother of freed British-Israeli hostage

The mother of a freed British-Israeli hostage has accused Sir Keir Starmer of "rewarding" Hamas after the UK government said it would formally recognise a Palestinian state.

Mandy Damari, whose kidnapped daughter Emily was held for 15 months, criticised the decision being taken when "the hostages are still not back, the war is not over and Hamas are still in power in Gaza".

Sir Keir said the decision was taken after Israel failed to meet conditions set in July and would reignite the "hope of a two-state solution".

He insisted the move was not a reward for Hamas - a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK - saying it could have "no future, no role in government, no role in security".

He added that recognition was intended to "revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis".

Ms Damari's daughter Emily was shot in the hand as she was kidnapped from her home in southern Israel during Hamas' 7 October 2023 attack, causing her to lose two fingers. She was kept in captivity for 15 months before being released in January.

Her mother said Sir Keir was living "under a two-state delusion", adding: "Even if he [Sir Keir Starmer] thinks he is right, he is rewarding Hamas for the 7 October barbaric and savage attack on Israel when the hostages are still not back, the war is not over and Hamas are still in power in Gaza."

The UK announcement in a co-ordinated move with Australia and Canada comes after government sources said the situation on the ground in Gaza had worsened significantly in the last few weeks.

Israel's latest ground operation in Gaza City, described by a UN official as "cataclysmic", has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee.

Sir Keir said with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza escalating and Israel pushing ahead with settlements in the West Bank, "the hope of a two-state solution is fading" but "we cannot let that light go out".

The "two-state solution" is an internationally backed formula for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. It proposes an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as its capital. It would exist alongside Israel.

Palestinians in the West Bank expressed cautious optimism after the announcement, with Mohammad Hasib, 30, calling the move "wonderful".

Mr Hasib told the BBC: "We hope that all European countries will follow and recognise our state so we can stop this war."

"We Palestinians are more than what is happening to us," he said, speaking of the war in Gaza.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas also welcomed Sir Keir's announcement, saying it would help pave the way for the "state of Palestine to live side by side with the state of Israel in security, peace and good neighbourliness".

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a Palestinian state "will not happen", and that leaders who had declared recognition were "giving a huge reward to terrorism".

Israel's foreign ministry said recognition of the Palestinian state was "nothing but a reward for jihadist Hamas".

Meanwhile, a group representing relatives of captives with British ties, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum UK, said: "Instead of confronting Hamas, Britain has emboldened it. Hamas has already celebrated the UK's move as a victory, while continuing to block ceasefire deals and humanitarian access."

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called the decision to recognise a Palestinian state "absolutely disastrous".

In a post on social media, she said: "We will all rue the day this decision was made. Rewarding terrorism with no conditions whatsoever put in place for Hamas. It leaves hostages languishing in Gaza and does nothing to stop the suffering of innocent people caught in this war."

However, for Husam Zumlot, the UK representative of the Palestinian Authority, "today is not just about Palestine, but about Britain's fulfilment of a solemn responsibility".

"Recognition must now be followed by action," he added.

Announcing the news to wild applause at the party's conference, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said "this is an historic day".

"Recognising the right of Palestinians to their self-determination has been long overdue," he said.

"But this is not the end of the road. The humanitarian catastrophe across Gaza and the West Bank continues to devastate lives - both for the hostages held in Hamas' captivity and Palestinians suffering across the Occupied Territories."

Green Party MP Ellie Chowns called the move "long overdue" and "a vital affirmation of Palestinian dignity and rights after decades of dispossession and suffering".

"But the UK can and must do much more," she said, urging an end to arms sales, military ties, and imports from illegal settlements, along with sanctions.

Reform UK's leader Nigel Farage, however, said the prime minister was "wrong to recognise a Palestinian state".

In a social media post, Farage said: "This is a reward for the Hamas terrorists and will do nothing to bring about peace."