Trump denies he gave UK green light to recognise Palestinian state

On his flight back to the US from Scotland on Tuesday, President Donald Trump denied that he gave UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer the green light to recognise a Palestinian state, multiple news outlets reported.

Trump told reporters on Air Force One that acknowledging a Palestinian state would be “rewarding Hamas”.

"You're rewarding Hamas if you do that. I don't think they should be rewarded," he said.

His comments are a U-turn from what he told Starmer during a meeting on Monday between Starmer and Trump in Aberdeen, and mirror the Israeli foreign ministry’s earlier comments on Tuesday.

The UK government said they are prepared to recognise a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly in response to public anger over Israel using starvation as a weapon of war.