UK Labour leader criticizes Netanyahu's Palestinian state rejection

Britain's Labour Party leader Keir Starmer strongly endorsed a two-state solution Friday as the only path to a secure future in the Middle East.

He also criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent rejection of the two-state framework.

It comes in response to Netanyahu's declaration to the White House where he firmly stated his opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state after Israel concludes its offensive in the Gaza Strip.

In an exclusive statement to ITV television, Starmer expressed his disapproval of Netanyahu's remarks, deeming them "wrong and unacceptable."

"Palestinian statehood is not in the gift of a neighbour, it's the inalienable right of the Palestinian people. It's also the only way to a secure settlement and secure future so they're wrong that unacceptable," he said.

"A Labour government would work with international partners to that two state solution. A safe and secure Israel alongside a viable Palestinian state," he added.

While Starmer previously expressed support for Israel's "right to defend itself" against Hamas in Gaza, he recently shifted his stance and called for a sustainable cease-fire and condemned the "intolerable" number of casualties in the conflict.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas which Tel Aviv said killed 1,200 people.

At least 24,762 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 62,108 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza's population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.