Approximately 160 states have signed up to recognize the Palestinian state. The UK, France, Canada and Australia have done so last week, but the outlook that this will become a reality amidst the US opposition and Israeli resistance is far from the distance.
In reality, the perception of the Palestinian state is a diplomatic declaration aimed at saving the vision of a two-state solution that will resolve decades of conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer said this weekend that the path to creating a viable Palestinian state that coexists with safe Israel. However, he and other leaders acknowledge that such a vision is very far at this point in the face of its refusal to accept any form of Israel’s Palestinian state.
This is largely a response to the events in Gaza and the ongoing Israeli military campaign, pushing the territorial civilians into constantly shrinking lands. French President Emmanuel Macron said it was to end the Gaza conflict in July and break the cycle of violence. “We must ultimately build up the Palestinian state, accept its condemnation, and ensure its viability and enable it by contributing to all the security of the Middle East by fully acknowledging Israel,” he said.
Also, some European countries have internal dynamics. There is a massive pro-Palestinian rallies, with public opinion shaking over Israel in light of the destruction of Gaza and starvation. Some of these countries also have large Muslim populations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday:
Reflecting Israel’s own position, he said the Trump administration has accepted its remuneration for terrorism, which rewards the Palestinian state. Rubio said in July that Macron’s decision was “reckless” and “serves Hamas propaganda and retreates peace. It was a slap in the face of the victims on October 7th.” The United States is more cooperative than many western governments in Israel’s campaign in Gaza and is not publicly opposed to Israel’s plans to expand occupied West Bank settlements. They will reject any attempt by the UN Security Council to recognize the Palestinian state.
The European government and others say recognition is part of a long-term process, including reforms to Palestinian authorities and new elections by a year after the ceasefire in Gaza. When joined the move to recognize the Palestinian state, Australia said that Palestinian authorities President Mahmoud Abbas had revised his perception of Israel’s right to exist and “has made a commitment to holding democratic elections and enacting important reforms to finance, governance and education.” A government that recognizes the Palestinian state said Hamas must not play a role in it. A declaration by 27 states in July, including much of the Arab world, stated that “Hamas must end its rules in Gaza and receive international involvement and support in line with the purposes of a sovereign and independent Palestinian state, which must end its rules in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian authorities.” Priorities and others say that the Palestinian state must be demilitarized.
One of many unknowns. Abbas, the current president of Palestinian authorities, is 89 years old. In April, he named his best friend Hussein al-Sheikh his vice and potential successor, marking him for the first time that he had the official number two. Born in 1960, Sheikh is a veteran of Fatah, a major faction founded by Yassar Arafat. However, the PA lost support among Palestinians due to perceptions of ineffectiveness in the face of widespread corruption and the growth of Israeli invasions in the West Bank. Opinion polls show that 66-year-old Marwan Barguti is the most popular figure among Palestinians, despite more than 20 years in an Israeli prison. However, Israel vowed to keep him in prison. He was convicted of planning an attack in which five Israeli civilians were killed.
Over the weekend, I admitted that solutions to two states were hanging in threads. “The hope for a solution for the two states is declining, but we cannot extinguish that light,” he said. The United States is the only government that can influence Israel to reconsider, and there is no indication that it intends. The debate over Israeli occupation of Gaza and plans to extend sovereignty to parts of the West Bank through annexation means that facts on the ground will provide a further distant outlook for the two states’ solutions. These plans are being pushed hard by the far-right ministers of Israeli Union, despite the fact that 160 countries continue to create independent Palestine.
