Western support for a two-state solution was never intended to create Palestinian statehood — it was meant to justify the existence of the Palestinian Authority. Now that the Western consensus is shifting, so are thoughts about the need for the PA.
The Palestinian Authority is criticized for aiding the Israeli occupation, and yet Israeli leaders are threatening to shut it down. This is because even its basic efforts to be recognized as a state challenge Israel’s colonial project.
The recognition of Palestine as a state is more of a symbolic gesture than a meaningful act, like imposing sanctions on Israel would be. Still, it shows that even Israel’s allies have been forced to take action as Israel’s genocide in Gaza deepens.
As several Western nations announce their recognition of a Palestinian state ahead of an upcoming UN General Assembly vote, Israel is accelerating its illegal annexation measures of the occupied West Bank to render a Palestinian state impossible.
France, Great Britain, and Canada’s recognition of a Palestinian state might matter someday. But, as usual, the Palestinians won’t get any immediate help from Europe, much less from North America, in stopping the Gaza genocide now.
Spain, Ireland, and Norway recently made headlines for recognizing the State of Palestine. But the only effective policy for any state recognizing Palestine is also the diplomatic and economic isolation of Israel. There is no other way.
Benjamin Netanyahu has never made it a secret that he opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state and insists on total Israeli control over “the territory west of the Jordan River.”