Recognizing Palestine
By Tom Gilbreath
Why have the United Kingdom and France chosen this moment to announce that they intend to recognize Palestine as a nation? The UK made the answer clear. They want to punish Israel. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer proved this by saying he would not recognize Palestine if the Israelis met certain conditions. It’s clearly not about the Palestinians, but about the Jews.
Israel must meet Britain’s demands — buckle under — or Britain will punish Israel by recognizing Palestine. This is not how it’s supposed to work. Normally, a nation puts conditions on the people who want to be recognized, not on some other country. But this is about Israel.
Britain says that it will recognize Palestine in September unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza, stops settlements in the West Bank, and restates its commitment to a two-state solution. The threat of recognizing Palestine is supposed to push Israel toward these actions. There’s no carrot, just a stick. The UK will punish Israel unless Israel does as the UK has ordered.
Perhaps Prime Minister Starmer should remember that the Palestinians have a long history of breaking ceasefires, including their attack of October 7, 2023. Since then, the Palestinians have refused every peace initiative, no matter how favorable to their side. They have weaponized rape, butchery, and hostage-taking. The UK wants Israel to just stand there and take it — be a punching dummy, receiving constant blows from its enemy and not fighting back. Why punish a nation for defending its citizens against terrorism, or for using force in an attempt to free hostages being held by force? In what world are those crimes? Ultimately, Israel's crime is that of being a Jewish state.
French President Emmanuel Macron tried to give the illusion of conditions on the Palestinians. He wrote that they must “demilitarize” and “fully recognize Israel.” But he removed any incentive for the Palestinians to do these things when he promised that France will recognize a State of Palestine in September. Whatever the Palestinians do or fail to do, it’s a done deal.
The second reason for these nations recognizing Palestine right now, goes back to the old axiom, “All politics is local.” Both Britain and France have large and growing Muslim populations and the nations’ politicians want to appease them. It’s one of those situations where appeasement will never work, but they will try anyway.
The third reason for recognizing Palestine now is that its governing authority rests in the control of 89-year-old dictator Mahmoud Abbas. He’s called the president of the Palestinian Authority (P.A.), but the word “president” implies elections, something the P.A. gave up twenty years ago. Abbas was elected to a four-year term as president in January of 2005. They haven’t had another presidential election since. That means he stopped being the legal President of Palestine in 2009. His power is illegitimate, yet the UK, France, and almost 150 other nations have chosen to affirm that power.
Britain and France want to recognize Palestine now because Abbas is old, unpopular, and unlikely to hold power much longer. When he loses that power, the Palestinian controlled territories are far more likely to erupt in civil war than to hold fair elections. Ironically, be it civil war or elections, the likely result will be the same — Hamas in control. Even if Israel succeeds in destroying Hamas, it would only be the name “Hamas” that would die. Its ideology would still represent the views of most Palestinians.
Britain and France have chosen this moment to strengthen the hand of Hamas. Their actions will keep the war going. Recognizing Palestine as a state will keep the hostages caged and tortured. And their decision rewards terrorism — something that will encourage more terrorism around the world, including in Britain and France. Every time a country recognizes the nonexistent nation of Palestine, they shorten the road to Armageddon.
