David Cameron’s call for the U.K. and U.N. to consider recognizing a Palestinian state is both shortsighted and fundamentally dangerous. Lord Cameron’s poorly-timed remarks at a reception in Westminster earlier this week are among the most reckless comments made by a British Foreign Secretary in the modern era.

The Foreign Secretary’s extraordinary intervention comes across as an insidious attempt to undermine the legitimacy of Israel at a critical moment, just months after the biggest slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust. It is astonishing that the British Prime Minister would even think of signing off on statements like this when Israel is under attack, while U.S. and U.K. forces are coming under direct fire in the Middle East from Iranian-backed militias who openly declare their intention to destroy Israel and create a Palestinian state.

Cameron’s statements run counter to the wishes of the Israeli government, and are a direct assault on Israeli statehood, as well as appearing like an appalling reward for Hamas’s campaign of mass murder and terror. They risk strategically strengthening Iran, the biggest champion of Palestinian statehood in the region and the world’s largest state sponsor of terror. They will be welcomed by the brutal Iranian regime, who will see this as a propaganda win, and a blow to Israel. They will also be cheered by the pro-Palestine mobs who have occupied the streets of London in recent months, and who will delight at the prospect of Israel facing humiliating pressure from the West to make major concessions.

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This is the kind of move one would expect from a far-Left government. My former boss, Margaret Thatcher, would have strongly condemned this approach. It smacks of amateurism and a desire to kowtow to U.N. and European Union elites.

Israel’s very survival is now at stake, with the Israeli people menaced by an array of Islamist terrorist groups and an Iranian regime that is openly pledging to wipe Israel off the map. To make a big call like this on Palestinian statehood without Israel at the table, and without the consent of its elected government, is a flagrant violation of Israel’s sovereignty and self-determination and a slap in the face for the Israeli people. 

A Palestinian state would have to be recognized by both sides, and the Israelis rightly see no prospect of a two-state solution while Palestinian terrorist groups and their Iranian backers threaten Israel’s security and its very existence. The drive for a two state path has prompted the Israeli Prime Minister to warn that it would “endanger the state of Israel”.

The Biden Administration has not yet pushed back against Cameron’s remarks, which has taken place against the backdrop of rising tensions between the U.S. President and Benjamin Netanyahu. The Biden White House should firmly reject Cameron’s latest intervention on the Palestinian issue as a bridge too far, but its support for the IDF’s war on Hamas is softening. Biden’s foreign and national security policy has been an outright disaster, which the Cameron plan would fit into nicely.

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There can be no doubt, however, that a post-Biden conservative administration would firmly reject the idea of Palestinian statehood carved out by external powers. A potential second Trump presidency would throw this plan out of the window and unequivocally stand with the nation of Israel in their hour of need. It would result in a major clash between Washington and London and damage the special relationship between the U.S. and U.K.

It is hard to see how the British government picking a fight with Israel, and helping out the cause of Iran, in any way benefits the British people. David Cameron was wrong on Brexit, bowing to the Eurofederalist elites of Brussels, and he is fundamentally wrong today in groveling to the enemies of Israel with his call for the U.K. to consider recognizing a Palestinian state. Great Britain should stand with the Israeli people, not undercut them.