LONDON – The UK, Canada and Australia officially recognize Palestine as a state on Sunday, leaving us a step away from major foreign policy changes and partnerships with the US, with several other European countries and US allies set to follow suit this week.
“Today, the UK, a solution for both Palestinians and Israelis, to revive hopes of peace, and to the two states, is officially aware of the Palestinian state,” British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer said in a statement.
Canada became the first group of seven countries to recognize Palestine as Prime Minister Mark Carney promised a “peaceful future for both the Palestinian and Israeli states.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese issued a statement shortly after officially acknowledging “Palestine independence and sovereign state.”
The move is largely symbolic, and Palestinians will increase their diplomatic status and increase the likelihood of treaty production.
However, it does not fundamentally change the ground reality of the Gaza Strip. There, the humanitarian crisis continues to worsen after nearly two years of war and the West Bank of the Jordan River, where Palestinians are increasingly pressured by Jewish settlers and military forces.
More than 65,000 people have been killed in Gaza, including thousands of children, since October 2023, destroying much of its territory and driving the majority of its population from home, according to the local Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The Israeli strike has killed at least 34 people in Gaza city overnight, health officials said on Sunday as Israel advanced the attack in the most populous city in Enclave, where hundreds of thousands live under hunger.
The fact that a list of many countries of Israel’s traditional supporters says they recognize Palestine is contrary to that background.
The UK says Palestine will be recognized as a state in July unless the Israeli government can “take substantial steps to end the horrifying situation in Gaza,” and its official recognition comes as Israel’s international criticism has increased international criticism over war on the enclave.
“In the face of fear growth in the Middle East, we are acting to keep peace and the potential for two state solutions alive,” added Stage. “That means safe and secure Israel alongside a viable Palestinian state. At this point, we don’t have either.”
The British decision angered close allies of Israel and the United States. It claims Hamas, the group that led the terrorist attacks on Israel that led October 7, 2023, will be rewarded by killing around 1,200 people, taking around 250 hostages and causing a massive escalation in a decade-long conflict.
The UK’s perception is part of a wider change between US allies, bringing more than 140 of the 193 closer to UN member states that recognize Palestine as a state.
France is scheduled to formally declare its recognition of the Palestinian state on Monday at a UN meeting in New York, co-chairing with Saudi Arabia, in line with the start of the UN General Assembly.
French President Emmanuel Macron told Israeli TV Channel 12 on Saturday that the country must “recognize the legitimate right of the Palestinian people to have a nation.”
He also denounced the attack on Israel’s new frontiers in Gaza city as “absolutely unacceptable” and “a big mistake.”
Portugal also confirmed on Saturday it will recognize the Palestinian state on Sunday.
Other countries on the brink of recognition include Belgium, Portugal, Luxembourg and New Zealand. These could act just before the UN Special Conference on Two-State Solutions in New York on Monday, or at the UN Special Conference.
Spain, Norway and Ireland recognized the state of Palestine last year.
The creation of the Palestinian state refers to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, whose capital is East Jerusalem. Israel currently occupy both the West Bank and Gaza. In other words, Palestinian authority does not completely control the land or people.
Israeli authorities recently approved a new reconciliation project as a supranational lawmaker as a confession of death for the dream of the Palestinian state.
