UNITED NATIONS: Several world leaders are expected to formally recognise a Palestinian state on Monday at a summit convened by France and Saudi Arabia, a move Israel says will undermine the prospects of a peaceful ending to the war in Gaza.
While the summit in New York could boost the morale of Palestinians, it is not expected to deliver change on the ground, where the most far-right government in Israel’s history has declared there will be no Palestinian state as it pushes on with its fight against Hamas.
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The two-state solution was the bedrock of the US-backed peace process ushered in by the 1993 Oslo Accords. The process suffered heavy pushback from both sides and has all but died.
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DON’T PUSH PALESTINIANS TOWARDS HAMAS
Recognition by Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal on Sunday of a Palestinian state piled pressure on Israel as it intensifies its war in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands, devastated the enclave and drawn vocal rebukes from its allies.
President Emmanuel Macron has indicated France will follow suit Monday as he prepares to host a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman on the moribund two-state solution — Palestinian and Israeli coexistence.
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“They want a nation, they want a state, and we should not push them towards Hamas,” Macron told CBS News’s “Face the Nation” Sunday, adding that the move would help isolate the armed group.
He also said he would make the release of hostages taken by Hamas during its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel a precondition of opening an embassy to the Palestinian state.
ISRAELI AMBASSADOR CALLS SUMMIT A ‘CIRCUS’
Israel and the United States will boycott the summit, Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon, said, describing the event as a “circus”.
Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal all recognised a Palestinian state on Sunday. France and five other states are expected to also formally do so on Monday at the meeting ahead of the United Nations General Assembly.
While the majority of European countries now recognise a Palestinian state, both Germany and Italy have signalled they are unlikely to make such a move soon.
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Germany — long a strong supporter of Israel because of its responsibility for the Holocaust — has grown more critical of Israeli policy, while insisting that recognition of a Palestinian state should come at the end of a political process to agree on a two-state solution.
The German government spokesperson also said on Monday there must be no further annexations in Israeli-occupied territory.
Italy said recognising a Palestinian state could be “counterproductive”.
Russia still believes that a two-state solution is the only way to settle the conflict, the Kremlin said on Monday.
“This remains our approach, and we believe that it is the only possible way to find a solution to this extremely complex, long-standing conflict, which is now perhaps at its most acute and tragic stage in its entire history,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
ISRAELI RESPONSE MAY INCLUDE WEST BANK ANNEXATION
Israel has become isolated and drawn global condemnation over its military conduct in Gaza, where more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to local health authorities.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected numerous calls to end the campaign until Hamas is destroyed and has said he will not recognise a Palestinian state. Netanyahu said in a statement on Sunday he will announce Israel’s response when he returns from the US, where he is scheduled to meet President Donald Trump.
Israel is considering annexing part of the occupied West Bank as a possible response as well as specific bilateral measures against Paris, Israeli officials have said, even though the recognitions are expected to be largely symbolic.
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Annexation could backfire and alienate key countries like the United Arab Emirates, a global oil power and trade hub with wide diplomatic clout across the Middle East.
The United Arab Emirates, the most prominent of the Arab states that normalised ties with Israel under the US-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020, has said such a move would undermine the spirit of the agreement.
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On the other hand, the US administration has also warned of possible consequences for those who take measures against Israel, including against France, as Macron is hosting the New York summit.
The summit follows Israel’s launch of a long-threatened ground assault on Gaza City with few prospects for a ceasefire two years.
FRANCE SAYS DECLARATION SHOWS COMMITMENT TO TWO-STATE SOLUTION
Amid Israel’s intensified Gaza offensive and escalating violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, there is a growing sense of urgency to act now before the idea of a two-state solution vanishes forever.
“The decision that the President of the Republic will present this afternoon to the United Nations General Assembly is a symbolic, immediate, political decision that demonstrates France’s commitment to the two-state solution,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told television channel TF1.
France has driven the move, hoping that Macron’s announcement in July that he would recognise a Palestinian state would give greater momentum to a movement hitherto dominated by smaller nations that are generally more critical of Israel.
In Gaza, some Palestinians found little relief in statehood recognition as they fled Israeli attacks on Gaza City on Sunday.
“Even if countries such as Australia, Canada, and France — who are now among those initiating this recognition — acknowledge Palestine, I believe there will still be no serious pressure on Israel to grant the Palestinians their rights,” said displaced Palestinian Nabeel Jaber.