LONDON

Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney called on the UK government to immediately recognize the state of Palestine, stating there should be “no ifs” in the decision.

His comments follow a pledge by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer earlier this week to recognize Palestine in September, conditional on Israel meeting a set of demands.

These include a commitment to a two-state solution, halting the annexation of Palestinian land in the West Bank, and taking action to end what he described as the “appalling situation in Gaza.”

However, Swinney has urged the UK government to act without delay or conditions.

In a video posted on social media on Thursday, the first minister said: “Let’s talk about Palestine. The UK prime minister has said that Palestine should be a sovereign state ‘if’. There’s no ifs about it for me."

“There has to be a Palestinian sovereign state declared now. There has to be a ceasefire in the Middle East. There has to be a ceasefire delivered to the starving people of Gaza, and Israel has got to remove the roadblocks to everything now," he added.

“The people of Gaza have suffered immeasurably, we need peace, we need a two-state solution, we need it now. No ifs,” he concluded.

The Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing over 60,300 Palestinians. The relentless bombardment has devastated the enclave and led to food shortages.

On Monday, Israeli rights groups B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, citing the systematic destruction of Palestinian society and the deliberate dismantling of the territory’s health care system.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.​​​​​​​