Not since Neville Chamberlain’s sorely mistaken pronouncement of “peace for our time” after signing the Munich agreement with Nazi Germany in September 1938 has a British prime minister been so wrong.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the United Kingdom is recognizing a Palestinian state.
“In the face of the growing horror in the Middle East, we are acting to keep alive the possibility of peace and a two-state solution. That means a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable Palestinian state. At the moment, we have neither,” he said in a video posted to social media.
“Let’s be frank, Hamas is a brutal terror organization. Our call for a genuine two-state solution is the exact opposite of their hateful vision. So we are clear, this solution is not a reward for Hamas because it means Hamas can have no future, no role in government, no role in security,” he continued.
Starmer then blamed Israel for a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, and further claimed that with the building of new Israeli settlements in the West Bank, “the hope of a two-state solution is fading.”
Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two state solution, the United Kingdom formally recognises the State of Palestine. pic.twitter.com/yrg6Lywc1s
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) September 21, 2025
History does not necessarily repeat itself, but there are some similarities to the demands that Adolf Hitler was making of the West on the eve of World War II, and those Hamas is making now.
The Munich Agreement was a land-for-peace deal in which Czechoslovakia was divided, with part being absorbed into Germany. Hitler, of course, agreed on paper to the terms, but then six months later, the German army rolled into the rest of Czechoslovakia, which was also annexed into Germany.
Should Trump simply ignore Starmer and Macron?
About five months after that, in September 1939, Germany invaded Poland, and World War II began.
Army General Douglas MacArthur explained the problem with appeasement in the face of violent threats, saying in his farewell address to a joint session of Congress in 1951 that, “history teaches with unmistakable emphasis that appeasement but begets new and bloodier war.”
“It points to no single instance where this end has justified that means, where appeasement has led to more than a sham peace. Like blackmail, it lays the basis for new and successively greater demands until, as in blackmail, violence becomes the only other alternative,” he added.
This observation has certainly been the case when it comes to the recent history of Israel.
In 2005, under pressure from the United States and others in the world community, Israel disengaged from the Gaza Strip, granting territorial self-rule. This was a trial run for a two-state solution.
However, the residents of Gaza voted the next year to place Hamas in charge, and the terrorist group has used it as a base of operations to attack the Israeli people ever since, culminating in the bloody Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that left over 1,200 Israelis dead and 250 taken captive.
Today, Palestinian Islamic Jihad released footage of Rom Braslavski.
Rom was kidnapped from the Nova music festival and has been held hostage in Gaza for close to 700 days.
Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, and Mark Carney would like to give Rom’s captors their own country. pic.twitter.com/4tBYtGuT3C
— Shabbos Kestenbaum (@ShabbosK) July 31, 2025
During an interview last month, Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad celebrated the renewed push for a two-state solution, saying, “The initiative by several countries to recognize a Palestinian state is one of the fruits of October 7.”
Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad openly declares: “The recognition of a Palestinian state is one of the fruits of October 7.”
Good job Macron, Starmer, and Carney.
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) September 20, 2025
Even worse, within hours of Starmer’s announcement on Sunday he “lauded the recognition of a Palestinian state by the United Kingdom, Canada, Portugal, and Australia in a Sunday statement, calling the move ‘an important step,’” according to The Jerusalem Post.
“This recognition is an important step in maintaining the right of our Palestinian people to their land and holy sites, and to establishing their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital,” Hamas stated.
And he implicitly credited the horror of the Oct. 7 attack with the desired outcome, calling the recognition a “deserved outcome of our people’s struggle.”
It’s a chilling message — that virtually guarantees more terror to come. And since Hamas now has proof of how willing the U.K. is to accede to terrorist demands, the U.K. has just become a gleaming target for terror operations.
In his Sunday remarks, Starmer argued that Hamas can have no role in governing a future Palestinian state. Those are just words. Does he plan to deploy the British Army to ensure that is the case? Will he prevent Palestinians from voting for Hamas?
In his scorching speech at the United Nations on Tuesday, Trump chastised leaders like Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron for recognizing a Palestinian state.
“As everyone knows, I have also been deeply engaged in seeking a cease-fire in Gaza. Have to get that done,” Trump said.
“Unfortunately, Hamas has repeatedly rejected reasonable offers to make peace. We can’t forget Oct. 7, can we? Now, as if to encourage continued conflict, some of this body is seeking to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state,” the president continued. “The rewards would be too great for Hamas terrorists for their atrocities.”
The president concluded, “Instead of giving in to Hamas’s ransom demands, those who want peace should be united with one message: Release the hostages now.”
.@POTUS: “Instead of giving in to Hamas’s ransom demands, those who want peace should be united with one message: RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!” pic.twitter.com/rkZoTTCoLD
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 23, 2025
Trump gets it. He understands the lessons of history: Appeasement never works. Starmer clearly does not.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
