Palestinian state recognition by three U.S. allies sparks Republican criticism

• During a press conference alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer last week, Trump referenced that divide over the UK's long-awaited move, saying, "I have a disagreement with the prime minister on that score."

Driving the news: Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley joined a group of voices on the right in condemning the decision, accusing the three countries of "caving to Hamas by pushing for recognition of a Palestinian state."

• She alleged the U.S. allies were "more concerned about pleasing Hamas than releasing the hostages and ending the war."
• House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast (R-Fla.) said, "Recognition of a 'State of Palestine' is empty virtue signaling that only rewards the Hamas butchers and rapists."
• And Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) accused the "so-called civilized world" of "rewarding modern day religious Nazis" with an arbitrary designation.

Catch up quick: Last week, more than two dozen of Graham and Mast's Republican colleagues signed a letter to Starmer, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney framing their plans as "reckless."

• Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also cast the move as reckless and as a "slap in the face to the victims" of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

Yes, but: Macron, whose country is set to join the more than 140 others in recognizing Palestinian statehood, told CBS News' Margaret Brennan in an interview that aired Sunday that Hamas' objective "is absolutely not to create a Palestinian state."

• He continued, "The objective of Hamas is to destroy Israel, to convince the maximum number of people that they have no chance to have peace and stability, and precisely a Palestinian state and to kill the maximum number of Israeli people."
• To end the war and isolate Hamas, he said, "the recognition process and the peace plan which goes with this recognition process is a precondition."

Zoom out: It's not just voices on the American political right that reacted with fierce opposition.

• Nigel Farage of Britain's far-right Reform Party described Starmer's decision as "wrong" and a "reward for the Hamas terrorists."
• Canada's Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre — who Carney's Liberals bested in April's election — said in July that the decision "legitimizes Hamas."

The other side: Starmer, in a video announcing the UK's formal recognition of the Palestinian state, called for the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas, which he described as a "brutal terror organization" that can have no role in Gaza's future governance.

• Starmer continued, "A call for a genuine two-state solution is the exact opposite of their hateful vision."

Carney echoed that sentiment in his statement, which said recognition "empowers those who seek peaceful coexistence and the end of Hamas."

• "This in no way legitimises terrorism, nor is it any reward for it," his statement read, adding that "it in no way compromises Canada's steadfast support for the State of Israel."

State of play: Israel launched its ground offensive earlier this month to occupy Gaza City, a move that is expected to increase the death toll in the nearly two-year-long war and exacerbate the enclave's humanitarian crisis.

• The Palestinian death toll has surpassed 65,000, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.

Go deeper: Scoop: Trump plans summit in New York with Arab leaders on Gaza war