Emily Damari, a hostage survivor who was abducted from Kfar Aza kibbutz and freed after 471 days, posted a social media message targeting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer over his decision to recognize Palestinian statehood.
"As a Dual British-Israeli citizen who survived 471 days in Hamas captivity, I am deeply saddened by Prime Minister Starmer's decision to recognise Palestinian statehood. This move does not confirm the UK will advance peace – it risks rewarding terror. It sends a dangerous message: that violence earns legitimacy," Damari stated.
"By legitimising a state entity while Hamas still controls Gaza and continues its campaign of terror, the Prime Minister is not promoting a solution; he is prolonging the conflict. Recognition under these conditions emboldens extremists and undermines any hope for genuine peace. Shame on you!"
"Prime Minister Starmer is not standing on the right side of history. Had he been in power during World War II, would he have advocated recognition for Nazi control of occupied countries like Holland, France, or Poland?
This is not diplomacy – it is a moral failure. Shame on you, Prime Minister!!!!!!"
Beyond Damari's statement, Adam Wagner, a British attorney representing families of hostages holding British citizenship, released a denunciation of the Starmer administration's decision:
"For almost two years, the British hostage families have encouraged the U.K. to use any leverage it has to help secure the release of their loved ones. They have sat in 10 Downing Street with successive Prime Ministers and Foreign Secretaries who have looked them in the eyes and promised the U.K. will do everything in its power to secure the immediate and unconditional release of their loved ones, whose detention is unambiguously a war crime."
STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
30 July 2025British hostage families are deeply concerned that hostages have been made a bargaining chip by the UK in its Palestinian State declaration statement
Since October 2023, we have represented the 7 families of the 10 hostages held by…
— Adam Wagner KC (@AdamWagner1) July 30, 2025
"We are concerned that the UK's proposal risks delaying the release of the hostages. This is because the UK has said that it will recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel agrees a ceasefire. But the risk is that Hamas will continue to refuse to a ceasefire because if it agrees to one this would make U.K. recognition less likely."
"The families are therefore deeply concerned that the U.K.'s approach risks disincentivising Hamas from releasing the hostages. This risks doing exactly what the Prime Minister's statement says the U.K. will not do: reward Hamas for its heinous and illegal acts."
