{"id":304164,"date":"2025-07-30T14:52:33","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T14:52:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/304164\/"},"modified":"2025-07-30T14:52:33","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T14:52:33","slug":"britain-and-france-consider-recognizing-palestinian-statehood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/304164\/","title":{"rendered":"Britain and France consider recognizing Palestinian statehood"},"content":{"rendered":"

Palestinian statehood?<\/strong> Yesterday, news broke<\/a> that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer would recognize a Palestinian state if Israel and Hamas did not reach a lasting ceasefire agreement by September. The week prior, French politicians had made similar noises, with France and over a dozen other countries unveiling a joint resolution<\/a> from the United Nations yesterday that would do much the same.<\/p>\n

The Reason Roundup Newsletter by Liz Wolfe<\/strong> Liz and Reason help you make sense of the day’s news every morning.<\/p>\n

The actions of Britain and France reflect souring public approval for both Israel’s war in Gaza\u2014which attempts to stamp out the terrorist group Hamas, responsible for perpetrating the October 7, 2023, attack that killed 1,200 and took 250 hostage\u2014and Israel’s increasingly aggressive actions in the West Bank.<\/p>\n

In the West Bank, Israeli forces have displaced more Palestinians while also expanding plans for settlements, worsening relations.<\/p>\n

The joint resolution articulates a vision for two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, “living side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders.” The diplomats seem to recognize that, for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Hamas holding any power going forward is a nonstarter, and “said they were determined to develop an international framework for the ‘day after’ in Gaza that would include reconstruction, the disarmament of Hamas, and its exclusion from governance structures,” per AMU<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To go back to basics, statehood criteria were laid out all the way back in 1933. There are four elements that must be satisfied: a permanent population, territorial boundaries that are clearly defined, and a government\u2014presumably the Palestinian Authority that runs the West Bank\u2014that must be able to conduct international affairs. Recognizing Palestinian statehood would require that many countries engage in “a complete revision of bilateral relations with Israel,” Ardi Imseis, an associate professor at Queen’s University Faculty of Law in Ontario, told<\/a>\u00a0The New York Times. “For example,” continues the\u00a0Times, “if an aspect of trade aids or assists Israel in violation of the rights of a Palestinian state, then the recognizing nation would have to cease that exchange.”<\/p>\n

It does not seem all that likely to happen. But it’s significant that so many European nations, including some of the most powerful, are signaling their interest in recognizing statehood; support for Netanyahu domestically has ebbed and flowed, but it’s certainly waned internationally over the last few months as Israel’s campaign in Gaza has gone on longer and reports of Israeli troops opening fire on Gazans attempting to access humanitarian aid shipments have given Israel Defense Forces (IDF) a real public relations (not to mention moral) problem.<\/p>\n

(The IDF’s defense<\/a> for an incident earlier this month: Troops had “identified suspects who approached them during operational activity in the Rafah area” about one kilometer from the aid site “at night-time when it’s not active.” But these incidents have become disturbingly common, with large death tolls<\/a>. Israeli forces do correctly offer<\/a> that Hamas engages in looting that prevents the aid from reaching starving people, but international onlookers and journalists repeatedly describe the attempts to reach aid-distribution sites as chaotic, with IDF gunfire raining down sporadically, not in some sort of targeted manner.)<\/p>\n

Israel has, to some degree, responded to international criticism that it’s employing deliberate starvation techniques in Gaza, starting aid airdrops this month<\/a>. An IDF statement was explicit about this<\/a>, saying the airdrops are “aimed at improving the humanitarian response” and to “refute the false claims of deliberate starvation in the Gaza Strip.”<\/p>\n

Past ceasefire negotiations have come off the rails due to disputes over hostage releases and the total eradication of Hamas in Gaza. It’s not totally clear what will be different as this September deadline approaches, or how progress will be made\u2014and European pressure may not ultimately matter that much at all.<\/p>\n

Scenes from New York:\u00a0<\/strong>Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was told to pay up<\/a> for her infamous 2021 Met Gala “Tax the Rich” outfit. The House Ethics Committee, comprised of both Republicans and Democrats, finally\u2014after years of investigation\u2014ruled that her initial payment of merely $1,000 to the designer who made the dress violated House rules by being well under fair market value.<\/p>\n

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