Is recognising the state of Palestine a moral duty?
Moral Maze
BBC
4.4 • 623 Ratings
🗓️ 25 September 2025
⏱️ 57 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Prime Minister Kier Starmer has described the UK’s formal recognition of a Palestinian state as a “moral duty”, saying the change in policy would, "revive the hope of peace and a two-state solution". The rising number of UN members following suit this week, marks a turning point in their approach to Israel since it began its war against Hamas in Gaza, following the October 7th atrocities. In that time, tens of thousands have been killed and more than one million displaced by Israel's military offensive. Why is Palestinian statehood recognition a ‘moral duty’ now, as opposed to decades ago? Does it put pressure on Israel to push for a ceasefire or does it reward terrorism? Does it represent moral leadership or gesture politics and hypocrisy?
The Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had long opposed a Palestinian state because it would constitute “an existential danger to Israel”. Meanwhile, over a century of colonial legacies, wars, and failed diplomatic endeavours has led to scepticism that Palestinians’ aspirations for equality and freedom can ever be achieved. To what extent is the recognition of Palestine a moral priority in such a long and intractable conflict between two peoples who have competing claims to land, and who see the other as a threat?
Chair: Michael Buerk Panel: Matthew Taylor, Giles Fraser, Mona Siddiqui and Tim Stanley. Producer: Dan Tierney
Transcript
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| 0:41.0 | was a moral duty, according to the Prime Minister. He said it would revive the hope for peace |
| 0:46.2 | and a political solution that would see two states, Israel and Palestine, sharing territory |
| 0:52.1 | they've been quarreling, fighting and dying over for three |
| 0:55.5 | quarters of a century. The arguments for and against, recognising the Palestinian state now, |
| 1:02.1 | are essentially moral. Those against say it's simply rewarding terrorism. Almost exactly |
| 1:07.6 | two years after the October the seventh atrocities, a great diplomatic prize, |
| 1:12.8 | handed without any conditions, no hostage release, no renunciation of terror, no formal |
| 1:17.6 | acknowledgement of Israel's right to exist. But Israel's war on Gaza, it's half-obliterated the |
| 1:23.6 | territory, costs tens of thousands of lives and made a million people homeless, has shifted |
| 1:28.8 | sentiment in many countries, with more and more formally recognising the Palestinian state in response. |
| 1:35.5 | So is our recognition of Palestine our duty, or is it gesture politics, moral leadership |
| 1:41.7 | or immoral appeasement? That's our moral maze tonight. Our panel, |
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