Former Hamas hostage Emily Damari slams Keir Starmer over Palestinian state move

From The London Evening Standard

I won’t say I don’t know what Keir Starmur thinks he is playing at, as that assumes he is acting in any way as a decent statesman like Prime Minister with the good of his country, its citizens and our allies in general. He isn’t.  

A British-Israeli woman held hostage by Hamas for more than a year says Sir Keir Starmer is “not standing on the right side of history” after his pledge to recognise a Palestinian state.

Emily Damari, who survived 471 days in Hamas captivity, accused the Prime Minister of “moral failure” over the move.

Sir Keir announced on Tuesday that the UK could take the step of recognising statehood in September.

Earlier on Wednesday, a Cabinet minister would not say if terror group Hamas has to free the remaining Israeli hostages for Britain to recognise a Palestinian state.

Sir Keir on Tuesday set out four conditions for Israel to meet to avoid the looming major shift in UK foreign policy in the Middle East. They include ending the “starvation” in Gaza, agreeing to a ceasefire, stopping annexing land in the West Bank and moving towards a two-state solution to the Middle East crisis.

But asked if Hamas releasing hostages was a condition for the UK to recognise a Palestinian state, Ms Alexander told BBC radio: “Hamas need to release the hostages, they need to disarm, and they also need to accept that they will have no future role in the governance of Gaza…”

In a statement on social media site X, Israel’s Prime Minister added: “Appeasement towards jihadist terrorists always fails.”

He probably thinks Jeremy Corbin and Zarah Sultana’s new party (working name Jezbullah) might get power one day, and he’d like a seat in the House of Viziers when they do.