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2 days ago · A decision by Ireland, Norway and Spain to recognize an independent Palestinian state, which officially took effect Tuesday, comes nearly eight months into Israel's war with Hamas in the Gaza ...
1 day ago · The United States, Britain and other Western countries have backed the idea of an independent Palestinian state existing alongside Israel as a solution to the Middle East’s most intractable conflict, but they insist Palestinian statehood should come as part of a negotiated settlement.
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- Saudi talks
For decades the U.S. has pushed a two-state solution to the conflict in the Middle East but not formally recognized an independent Palestinian state. That may be about to change.
The Biden administration is drawing up options to enact the policy after Israel’s current war in Gaza, a senior administration official told NBC News, a move that could offer political, legal and symbolic power for Palestinians and add to international pressure on Israel to engage in meaningful talks for a long-term peace.
Offering that recognition before any final comprehensive deal between the two parties would mark an apparent shift in Washington’s position, as it navigates an issue of extraordinary sensitivity at home and abroad.
News of the internal deliberations was met with expected pushback from some on the Israeli right and their supporters internationally, as the country still reels from Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in which 1,200 people were killed and another 240 kidnapped. But the White House plans, first reported by Axios, have also been met with skepticism — and outright anger — from many Palestinians themselves.
Recognition is a long-held goal for Palestinians and their supporters, bestowing political and international legitimacy as well as symbolic clout in this most intractable of conflicts. But with the death toll still rising in Gaza, many veteran activists say this push is meaningless while the U.S. continues to fund and arm Israel, while shielding it from international censure over its military campaign, in which more than 27,000 people have been killed.
“We’ve been calling for recognition of a Palestinian state for a long time,” said Mustafa Barghouti, a member of the Palestinian parliament, where he leads the Palestinian National Initiative party.
There are many unanswered questions: How long will it take for the war to end so any of this can happen? How to overcome Netanyahu’s opposition? And to what extent would this depend on other moving parts in the region? On this front, the Palestinians are wary of becoming a pawn in a wider game.
“Our worry is that this whole thing could become just lip service to the interest of normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel,” Barghouti said, referring to a deal the White House had been pursuing prior to the Hamas attack, and which may still form part of any agreement.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday, and they discussed achieving "an enduring end to the crisis in Gaza that provides lasting peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike," according to the State Department. Blinken then headed to Egypt and Qatar before visiting Israel for his latest round of Middle East diplomacy.
The lack of Palestinian statehood is, for many observers, a central reason why this conflict has remained unresolved for decades. It leaves the Palestinians on an unequal footing to much of the world, not just when it comes to international institutions such as the U.N. but also in the global psyche, where the Palestinian territories are often not afforded the rights and respect of established nations.
In fact, what counts as a country and what doesn’t is contested. Most definitions start with the Montevideo Convention of 1933, which says that countries must have a permanent population, a defined territory and government, and must be able to enter relations with other states.
The extent to which the Palestinians fulfill this criteria is debated by scholars. But most countries do already recognize it — 139 of the 193 of U.N. member states, including most of Asia, Africa and South America. Crucially, however, the geopolitical powerhouses of the U.S., Canada and most of Europe do not. And Washington has blocked previous resolutions that would recognize a Palestinian state at the U.N. Security Council, saying it is a matter to be negotiated with Israel directly.
May 22, 2024 · With the announcement by Norway and Ireland that they have recognised Palestine as an independent state, and Spain expected to follow suit by the end of May, it appears that international momentum...
May 22, 2024 · The United Nations voted in 1947 to create an independent Arab state alongside a Jewish one, but the plan was rejected by neighboring Arab governments and Palestinian Arabs, and the state of...
Oct 27, 2023 · The two-state solution calls for establishing an independent state for Palestinians alongside that of Israel. And U.S. support for it is nothing new: For decades, it has been the primary proposed...
Feb 7, 2022 · The plan calls for an independent state of Palestine in most of the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, territories Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel and Palestine would have...
