Britain recognises Palestinian state after Israel ignores ultimatum

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain said on Sunday it was recognising a Palestinian state after Israel failed to meet conditions including a ceasefire in the nearly two-year-old Gaza war.

The decision carries symbolic weight as Britain played a major role in Israel's creation as a modern nation in the aftermath of World War Two and has long been its ally.

Lammy previously said Britain has a historic responsibility to facilitate a two-state solution, dating back to the 1917 Balfour Declaration which pledged that the creation of a Jewish state would not infringe on Arab rights.

British troops captured Jerusalem from the Ottoman Empire in 1917, and in 1922 the League of Nations awarded Britain an international mandate to administer Palestine during the post-war deal-making that redrew the map of the Middle East.

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