The US has joined Israel in accusing Sir Keir Starmer of rewarding Hamas by announcing a plan to recognise Palestine as a state.
The Prime Minister announced on Tuesday that the step would be taken in September unless Israel met a series of conditions.
However, the plan, which was confirmed at an emergency Cabinet meeting, is a "slap in the face" for the victims of the October 7 massacre in Hamas, according to US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce.
She said: "It gives one group hope, and that's Hamas.
"It is a rewarding of that kind of behaviour that if you wait long enough, if you don't cooperate in any other normal environment where someone was so utterly defeated, they would surrender."
Donald Trump himself said the UK was "going the same as Macron" but that it was "OK, it doesn't mean I have to agree".
Emmanuel Macron announced last week that France would recognise Palestine as a state, making him the first G7 nation leader to take the step.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took aim at Starmer on Tuesday, and suggested his country would not agree to the conditions set out.
REUTERS
|Donald Trump said the UK was 'going the same as Macron' but that it was 'OK, it doesn't mean I have to agree'
"Starmer rewards Hamas's monstrous terrorism and punishes its victims," Netanyahu blasted.
"A jihadist state on Israel's border today will threaten Britain tomorrow.
"Appeasement towards jihadist terrorists always fails. It will fail you too. It will not happen."
The four conditions set out by Starmer are for Israel to reach a ceasefire, end the "appalling" situation in Gaza and allow 500 aid trucks in a day, "make clear" there will be no annexation in the West Bank, and commit to a long-term peace process which delivers a two-state solution.
REUTERS
|Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticised Starmer, and suggested his country would not agree to the conditions set out
Israel's Foreign Ministry was also critical, saying: "The shift in the British Government's position at this time, following the French move and internal political pressures, constitutes a reward for Hamas and harms efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and a framework for the release of hostages."
Starmer's move also prompted fury at home.
Reform UK called it a "knee-jerk reaction" to pressure from the left which had been made at the "wrong time", while the Conservatives called it "political posturing at its very worst".
Meanwhile, anti-Israel hardliner Jeremy Corbyn claimed statehood was being used as a "bargaining chip".
Starmer said on Tuesday: "I've always said that we will recognise a Palestinian state as a contribution to a proper peace process at the moment of maximum impact for the two-state solution.
"With that solution now under threat, this is the moment to act."
He also added that his demands on the "terrorists of Hamas", which includes the immediate release of hostages, were "unchanged and unequivocal".
According to the Foreign Secretary, the decision was announced after days of intense deliberations, and made "with the hand of history on our shoulders".
Downing Street also confirmed that Starmer had spoken to Netanyahu before the announcement was made.
The change will formally be made at the United Nations General Assembly in September if Israel does not meet the conditions, meaning the UK will join 147 other UN member states who have also recognised the Palestine.
This includes Spain and Ireland, who controversially made the move last year, as well as Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Romania.