'Palestinians deserve to have state they’ve been promised for decades,' says Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson, the UK’s former prime minister, said the Palestinians in Gaza “deserve to have the state they’ve been promised for decades,” calling the crisis in the enclave “a failure of governance.”

His comments came during a keynote session at the World Governments Summit (WGS) where Johnson tackled key geopolitical issues, ranging from the new US administration to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, that are shaping the Middle East and the world.

Asked about US President Donald Trump’s suggestion of taking over Gaza and resettling the Palestinians in Jordan and Egypt, Johnson said the crisis in Gaza has no easy solution and called the situation “an absolute tragedy”.

“It’s not for me to analyze what the US President is saying. I think he’s inviting everyone to say that [Gaza] has great potential, and has a wonderful location, so what is this failure? It is a failure of governance,” said Johnson.

He added, “You cannot go on with a situation in which you have Gaza ruled by a government that wants to exterminate Israel.”

However, he emphasised that “the Palestinian people do deserve to have the state that they’ve been promised for decades” and that the “suffering of the people of Gaza needs to end, and the hostages need to come back.”

Johnson noted that the new US administration’s stance on Ukraine has been “encouraging” and could bring the peace process closer.

“There hasn’t been an instant capitulation to Putin which would have been a disaster,” said Johnson, noting his confidence in Trump’s administration to bring an end to the war.

“I don’t think the US could ever abandon Ukraine. The solution to Ukraine is not about geography or territory; it’s about identity and destiny.”

When asked about his thoughts on the current US presidency, Johnson noted his support for Trump and emphasised the need to act quickly when holding a position in office.

“I think the world is on the whole better when America is strong, and provides strong leadership, and I think that's what Donald trump is capable of providing.”

He added, “The new American presidency is on the clock. It’s got four years, so they’ve got to move fast to achieve things.”

Johnson urged governments to learn from past mistakes, warning against overspending.

“We need to have a recognition in European democracies and in the UK that we are spending far too much of taxpayers’ money without achieving the objectives that we promise. I think going through budgets line by line and cutting out waste is completely right,” he said.

Reflecting on his time in office, Johnson said that a lot of change was enacted during the term, especially with regards to the implications of Brexit.

“We did a lot. We took back control of our national independence, our laws, our borders, and our money. We did things differently with vaccinations during COVID, and far faster. I’ve had a wonderful time in politics—I was able to do some things that were useful,” he said.

He added, “COVID-19 necessitated a huge expansion in state power and state spending when I was in office. I think that what we need to do now is move past a COVID environment and move away from that kind of state spending. I think that’s what people want us to do.”

In terms of the UK’s current government, Johnson stated that he believes that it is practicing “overtaxing, overspending, and over-regulating”. He also said that there is “definitely too much bureaucracy in the UK”, but expressed his optimism in the recovery of the Tories before the next election cycle.

On whether he currently has aspirations for office in the future, Johnson said, “I would only do something if I thought I could do something useful. For the moment, there is nothing I could usefully do.”

Held under the theme ‘Shaping Future Governments’, this year’s WGS convenes over 30 heads of state and government, more than 80 international and regional organisations and 140 government delegations. Its agenda features 21 global forums exploring major future trends and transformations, over 200 interactive sessions with more than 300 prominent speakers—including presidents, ministers, experts, thought leaders, and decision-makers—and over 30 ministerial meetings and roundtables attended by more than 400 ministers.

The summit, which runs until 13th February, will also publish 30 strategic reports in partnership with its international knowledge partners.

WAM