LONDON — The United Kingdom, Canada and Australia officially recognized Palestine as a state Sunday, a significant shift in foreign policy and a step away from their alignment with the United States, with several other European nations and U.S. allies set tofollow suit this week.

“Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two state solution, the United Kingdom formally recognizes the State of Palestine,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement.

Canada had, moments before, become the first Group of 7 nation to recognize the state of Palestine, as Prime Minister Mark Carney promised a "peaceful future for both the State of Palestine and the State of Israel."

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese released a statement shortly after formally recognizing "the independent and sovereign State of Palestine."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement: “We will have to fight both at the UN and in all other arenas against the false propaganda against us and the calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state that will endanger our existence and constitute an absurd reward for terrorism. The international community will hear from us on this matter in the coming days.”

Netanyahu accused the foreign leaders of giving Hamas a “prize

“It will not happen,” he said. “A Palestinian state will not be established west of the Jordan River.”

The Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement on X that it “categorically rejects” the declarations by the United Kingdom and other countries.

“This declaration does not promote peace, but on the contrary — further destabilizes the region and undermines the chances of achieving a peaceful solution in the future,” the statement said.

Hamas applauded the decision, calling it a “rightful outcome of our people’s struggle, steadfastness, and sacrifices on the path to liberation and return.”

The move, which is largely symbolic, grants the Palestinians increased diplomatic standing and the potential for treaty-making.

But it does not fundamentally change the realities on the ground in the Gaza Strip, where the humanitarian crisis continues to worsen after nearly two years of war, or the occupied West Bank, where Palestinians have come under increasing pressure from Jewish settlers and the military.

More than 65,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, including thousands of children, according to the local Palestinian Health Ministry, with much of the territory destroyed and the majority of the population driven from their homes, often multiple times.

Israeli strikes killed at least 34 people in Gaza City overnight, health officials said Sunday, as Israel pressed ahead with its offensive in the enclave's most populous city, where hundreds of thousands of people have been living under famine.