European officials warn Israel over West Bank annexation plans following moves towards recognition
We are restarting our live coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza and the diplomacy around it.
European officials have reportedly warned Israel not to annex parts of the occupied West Bank in retaliation for western countries recognition of Palestinian statehood.
The UK, Australia and Canada all formally recognised Palestinian statehood on Sunday, in a historic move that put three major US allies at odds with the Trump administration and drew an immediate, angry response from Israel.
Portugal also recognised Palestine yesterday, and France is among the European countries expected to do the same at the UN general assembly in New York this week.
Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said yesterday that recognition rewarded Hamas’ terrorism and said “we doubled Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and we will continue on this path”.
The Israeli far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, and Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister, called for wholesale annexation of the occupied West Bank in response to the declarations.
“The days when Britain and other countries would determine our future are over … The only response to this anti-Israeli move is sovereignty over the historic homeland of the Jewish people in Judea and Samaria, and permanently removing the folly of a Palestinian state from the agenda,” Smotrich wrote on X.
The UK’s foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, has told the BBC that she has warned Israel not to annex parts of the West Bank in response to the UK’s recognition of Palestinian statehood, which has particular historic significance given the UK’s role in the creation of Israel after the second world war.
Cooper said:
We have been clear that this decision that we are taking is about the best way to respect the security for Israel as well as the security for Palestinians.
It’s about protecting peace and justice and crucially security for the Middle East and we will continue to work with everyone across the region in order to be able to do that.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper says she has warned Israel not to annex parts of the West Bank in retaliation for the UK’s recognition of Palestinian statehood.
She was speaking to the BBC before attending a conference at the United Nations in New Yorkhttps://t.co/PabfJxI3N2 pic.twitter.com/N6Cbr3VzJp
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) September 22, 2025
The UK is to recognise a Palestinian state based provisionally on 1967 borders, before Israel occupied the Gaza Strip and West Bank. It will also pave the way for full diplomatic relations, with the Palestinian head of mission, Husam Zomlot, likely to be upgraded to full ambassadorial status.
If Israel does carry out some form of annexation of the West Bank, European officials would consider restricting trade with settlements, imposing more sanctions on violent settlers, and formally adopt an advisory opinion issued last year by the UN’s international court of justice, which found Israel’s occupation to be in violation of international law, according to the Financial Times.
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On Sunday, a US state department spokesperson dismissed as “performative” the move to recognise Palestine.
“Our focus remains on serious diplomacy, not performative gestures. Our priorities are clear: the release of the hostages, the security of Israel, and peace and prosperity for the entire region that is only possible free from Hamas,” the spokesperson was quoted as having said.
Analysts in Israel suggest that Benjamin Netanyahu will make a decision on how to respond to the wave of western countries recognising an independent Palestinian state after his forthcoming trip to Washington at the end of the month.
Donald Trump has not commented on Sunday’s moves to recognition but has expressed his opposition to them in the past.
More than 150 countries are expected to have recognised Palestine by the end of next week, although some may set conditions.
ShareQatar welcomes recognition of Palestinian state by some western countries
Qatar has welcomed the recognition of a Palestinian state by the UK, Canada, Australia and Portugal, saying the move supported efforts to achieve a lasting peace in the region.
The UK’s deputy prime minister David Lammy, who will represent the UK at the general assembly, said yesterday that the prospects of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel “lays in tatters” after Israel carried out an airstrike on a Hamas negotiating team in Qatar at the start of the month, which caused a huge diplomatic fallout.
Hamas said six people were killed in the attack, including the son of its exiled Gaza chief, Khalil al-Hayya. It said its top leadership, including the negotiations team, had survived.
Qatar, a close US ally, had been hosting negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire in Israel’s war in Gaza, and has played a key role as an intermediary. It has hosted the Hamas political bureau since 2012, and hosts a large American airbase in the desert near Doha.
Last week, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, called on Qatar to continue to play a constructive role in bringing an end to the war and said it could help reach the goals of releasing all 48 hostages still held in Gaza, disarming Hamas and building a better future for Palestinian people.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been bullish in his defiance of international condemnation of the attack in Doha and said he did not rule out further strikes on Hamas leaders “wherever they are”.
Qatari prime minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani has called on the international community to stop applying “double standards” and to punish Israel.
‘State terrorism’: Qatari prime minister slams Israel airstrikes in Doha – videoShare
Updated at 03.57 EDT
European officials warn Israel over West Bank annexation plans following moves towards recognition
We are restarting our live coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza and the diplomacy around it.
European officials have reportedly warned Israel not to annex parts of the occupied West Bank in retaliation for western countries recognition of Palestinian statehood.
The UK, Australia and Canada all formally recognised Palestinian statehood on Sunday, in a historic move that put three major US allies at odds with the Trump administration and drew an immediate, angry response from Israel.
Portugal also recognised Palestine yesterday, and France is among the European countries expected to do the same at the UN general assembly in New York this week.
Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said yesterday that recognition rewarded Hamas’ terrorism and said “we doubled Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and we will continue on this path”.
The Israeli far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, and Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister, called for wholesale annexation of the occupied West Bank in response to the declarations.
“The days when Britain and other countries would determine our future are over … The only response to this anti-Israeli move is sovereignty over the historic homeland of the Jewish people in Judea and Samaria, and permanently removing the folly of a Palestinian state from the agenda,” Smotrich wrote on X.
The UK’s foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, has told the BBC that she has warned Israel not to annex parts of the West Bank in response to the UK’s recognition of Palestinian statehood, which has particular historic significance given the UK’s role in the creation of Israel after the second world war.
Cooper said:
We have been clear that this decision that we are taking is about the best way to respect the security for Israel as well as the security for Palestinians.
It’s about protecting peace and justice and crucially security for the Middle East and we will continue to work with everyone across the region in order to be able to do that.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper says she has warned Israel not to annex parts of the West Bank in retaliation for the UK’s recognition of Palestinian statehood.
She was speaking to the BBC before attending a conference at the United Nations in New Yorkhttps://t.co/PabfJxI3N2 pic.twitter.com/N6Cbr3VzJp
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) September 22, 2025
The UK is to recognise a Palestinian state based provisionally on 1967 borders, before Israel occupied the Gaza Strip and West Bank. It will also pave the way for full diplomatic relations, with the Palestinian head of mission, Husam Zomlot, likely to be upgraded to full ambassadorial status.
If Israel does carry out some form of annexation of the West Bank, European officials would consider restricting trade with settlements, imposing more sanctions on violent settlers, and formally adopt an advisory opinion issued last year by the UN’s international court of justice, which found Israel’s occupation to be in violation of international law, according to the Financial Times.