A number of countries including the UK, France, Portugal, Canada have recognised a Palestinian state which, given that it does not meet the criteria for statehood such as having internationally agreed boundaries, can be rather called a kind of quasi-state. Does international recognition mean Palestine is going to be a state? | Israel-Palestine conflict News | Al Jazeera However, this was no concern to the leaders of the recognizing governments, who saw the recognition as a symbolic gesture but ultimately galvanized the public discourse worldwide to the point that demonstrations by pro-Palestinian activists led to riots in several cities. Pressure mounts on Meloni’s gov’t as Gaza protests paralyse Italy | Israel-Palestine conflict News | Al Jazeera
It is worth having a brief history lesson to recall why British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was among the first to decide to support Palestinian statehood. in 1917, British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour signed a document that later became known in history as the Balfour Declaration which first expressed Britain’s support for ’the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people’. The territory previously known as Palestine was ruled by Britain ruled through a League of Nations mandate from 1922 to 1948, when Israel, a Jewish state was established. ’Britain bears a special burden of responsibility to support the two-state solution.’, former UK foreign secretary David Lammy said in a speech in the UN this summer. What does recognising a Palestinian state mean?
Everything that happened after that, including years of wars and intifadas and countless deaths on both sides, resulted in a cycle of violence that has dragged on to this day and, seems to be never-ending. Then came the Hamas terrorist organization’s mass attack on innocent Jews on October 7, 2023, retaliated by Israel with the destruction of Gaza City and the entire Gaza Strip. While few Israeli hostages were rescued, most were killed, and some are still being held captive by Hamas. Some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Israel says 48 hostages remain, 20 of whom are alive. Meanwhile, Israel’s campaign has killed more than 67,000 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to Gaza health authorities. All this has resulted in a divided Israel. Trump says Israel agrees to ‘initial withdrawal line,’ Hamas confirmation pending | CBC News
Donald Trump’s recently announced 20-point peace plan, aims to establish lasting peace, even though the US has not recognized the Palestinian state and has no plan to do so. Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan in full
Although some European leaders, including German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul stress Europe’s role in securing a deal between Israel and Hamas, what Europe has done is no more than showing symbolic gestures which will not ultimately make Palestine a state as its territory will remain under Israeli control.
As far as European gestures and statements on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are concerned, the situation is very similar to the position of the EU on the war in Ukraine: top European leaders never get tired of making strong but empty statements in support of Kyiv and against Moscow, but the war has been continuing non-stop since 2022, and yet there is no hope for a ceasefire or peace agreement achieved by a European mediation.
In addition to military conflicts and wars, we should also mention the issue of the European Green Deal. Apart from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen having raised this slogan a few years ago, have you seen any progress in this area? In fact, virtually zero progress has been recorded, yet the problem remains unresolved.
The same applies to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Russia-Ukraine war, where Europe has failed to offer anything but symbolic gestures. Europe is great at hypocrisy, but when it comes to action, it fails. The main reason for this phenomenon is that, as has been the case so many times before, Europe does not want to go to the root of the problem, but only wants to eliminate the symptoms.
That is why Europe thought it was a good idea to send a pro-Palestinian flotilla with activists, lawyers, and MEPs on board to Gaza despite the fact that, using common sense, an action like that not only fails to resolve a centuries-long conflict but also does not help the suffering people who really need help to find a way out of a deadlock. Meloni feels the squeeze to get tough on Israel after flotilla seizure – POLITICO
Just as the Gaza Strip has been turned into ruins, chaos and a graveyard as a result of Israeli bombardments, Ukraine’s residential buildings, military and industrial facilities are also becoming ruins as a result of daily Russian missile attacks, not to mention human losses.
Pushing for a two-state solution and recognizing Palestine in this situation seems quite absurd. It should also be added that most European countries have decided to recognize Palestine unconditionally, thereby causing explicit damage to any chance of lasting peace, since without any preconditions, such as the release of hostages still being held captive, there is nothing to force Hamas to cease its terrorist activities.
As a refreshing exception, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has made recognition by her government conditional on the release of all Israeli hostages and the exclusion of Hamas from government. Italy ready to recognise Palestine on two conditions, PM Meloni says | Euronews Globally, Italy’s decision is not the only one which urges meeting preconditions as the Singaporean government has made a similar decision for similar reasons. S’pore will reconsider position on Palestine if…
In strict moral terms, Western leaders such as Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, and others who unconditionally recognize the Palestinian state have, by letting go of the opportunity to set conditions, in fact legitimized the crimes of Hamas that led to the current bloody situation. We can only hope that the war in Ukraine will not end in a similar way, with the same ’effective’ European contribution.
