Britain’s relatively new prime minister, Keir Starmer, has made a bold threat: Recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations in September if Israel does not agree to his ceasefire terms to end the war in Gaza, including the disarmament of Hamas. One would think that after the horrors of Oct. 7, 2023, in which Hamas murdered more than 1,200 Israelis in cold blood, a Western leader might understand the sheer absurdity of trying to impose preconditions on the victim rather than the terrorists.

But absurdity seems to be the order of the day in Starmer’s government, both at home and abroad.

Let’s be blunt: His ultimatum to Israel is not the act of a principled statesman. It is political pandering cloaked in moral arrogance, designed to appease Britain’s increasingly restive and radicalized urban base. Before Starmer lectures the Middle East on coexistence and peace, he should turn his attention to reclaiming the streets of England’s own cities, where Islamist extremism is on the rise and basic freedoms are under siege.