President Trump said Thursday that the recognition of a Palestinian state was a rare area of disagreement between him and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a joint press conference with the two leaders.
Trump was asked about Starmer’s impending recognition of a Palestinian state and what more he could say to Israel to stop the fighting. The president emphasized his desire to see Hamas release all remaining hostages and avoided addressing criticisms of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
“We want it to end. We have to have the hostages back immediately. That’s what the people of Israel want,” Trump said. “They want them back. And we want the fighting to stop.”
“I have a disagreement with the prime minister on that score,” he added. “One of our few disagreements, actually.”
The British government is expected to vote to recognize a Palestinian state shortly after Trump departs from his two-day visit to the United Kingdom. Starmer said the timing had “nothing to do” with the president’s state visit.
The prime minister added that he and Trump discussed the situation in the Middle East as part of an hour-long discussion behind closed doors about world affairs.
He also noted that recognizing a Palestinian state was part of an “overall package which hopefully takes us from the appalling situation we’re in now to the outcome of a safe and secure Israel, which we do not have, and a viable Palestinian state.”
Israel and Hamas have been at war since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack in which the terrorist group killed more than 1,200 Israelis. The subsequent military campaign in Gaza has killed tens of thousands of people and led to a humanitarian crisis in the region.
Trump has been a staunch ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and largely avoided public criticism of the leader, despite some private frustrations.
The president has at times spoken about the need for more aid in Gaza, but he has also floated a plan to relocate the population while the U.S. takes control of the land to rebuild it. Trump has also pushed back on allies moving to recognize a Palestinian state, at one point suggesting Canada doing so would hurt trade talks.
