The United Kingdom and France have announced plans to recognize Palestinian statehood in September
President Donald Trump on Tuesday dismissed British and French plans to recognize a Palestinian state, saying that doing so amounts to “rewarding” Hamas terrorists.
“You could make the case that you’re rewarding people that, you know, you’re rewarding Hamas if you do that,” Trump told reporters when asked whether he would pressure Israel to pursue “some sort of longer-term solution.”
“I don’t think [Hamas] should be rewarded,” Trump went on. “I’m not in that camp, to be honest. We’ll let you know where we are, but I am not in that camp because if you do that, you really are rewarding Hamas. And I’m not about to do that.”
BREAKING: President Trump on whether or not a Palestinian state should be established.
“If you do that, you really are rewarding Hamas — and I’m not about to do that.”
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) July 30, 2025
The remarks came just hours after U.K. prime minister Keir Starmer pledged to recognize a Palestinian state in September unless Israel takes “substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza” and commits to a two-state solution. Trump said Tuesday that he and Starmer, who met Monday in Scotland, “never discussed” such a statement.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted Starmer’s announcement, saying it “rewards Hamas’s monstrous terrorism & punishes its victims.”
France last week also announced it would recognize Palestinian statehood, prompting Trump to dismiss French president Emmanuel Macron. “What he says doesn’t matter,” Trump said of Macron, adding that the move doesn’t “carry any weight.”
Hamas has celebrated the announcements, with one official declaring, “The international support for Palestinian self-determination shows we are moving in the right direction. Victory and liberation are closer than we expected,” according to a translation by journalist Khaled Abu Toameh.
Last Thursday, the Trump administration recalled its diplomatic team from Qatar, ending two weeks of ceasefire negotiations with Hamas after the terror group rejected the latest U.S. offer and refused to release the remaining Israeli hostages.
“We have decided to bring our team home from Doha for consultations after the latest response from Hamas, which clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza,” U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said in a statement.
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