Pressure mounts on Israel as horror in Gaza fuels calls for Palestinian state

 The push by major world powers to end the war in Gaza by recognising Palestinian statehood is intensifying – first it was France, then the UK and now Canada adding to the pressure on Israel.

Canadian prime minister Mark Carney declared that his country intends to recognise the state of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in September. Like his British and French counterparts, he immediately included conditions, adding: “We intend to do so because the Palestinian Authority has committed to lead much-needed reform.”

Keir Starmer has said he will recognise Palestinian statehood unless Israel halts its assault on Gaza and settlement construction in the West Bank. French president Emmanuel Macron said France will recognise Palestine, adding: “We must also guarantee the demilitarisation of Hamas, and secure and rebuild Gaza.”

The diplomatic push was welcomed by those such as Xavier Abu Eid, formerly part of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation’s efforts to secure international recognition for Palestine, although he questioned the rationale for conditions. “Recognition of statehood is important, it’s mandatory, but it’s also a very basic step. After 77 years, it shouldn’t be conditioned,” he said.

“But the real test, the real question is how they will link this political will to produce a two-state solution with the mandatory outcome, which is ending the Israeli occupation. And there we find a number of questions that remain unanswered.”

Diplomatic efforts to affirm Palestinian statehood as a means to achieve a two-state solution were underscored at a high-level conference at the UN in New York this week.

The “New York Declaration” lays out a plan to end the war in Gaza and a longer-term strategy to end decades of conflict, which Palestinians and rights groups such as Amnesty International define as Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory. Israeli and international rights groups – and an advisory opinion by the international court of justice – describe Israel enforcing an apartheid system on occupied territories.

The declaration earlier this week seeks to end this by recognising a Palestinian state, calling this act “an essential and indispensable component of the achievement of the two-state solution”. Israeli authorities have derided both the UN conference and recognition of Palestine as a boon to Hamas. But a statement from international diplomats following the UN conferences seeks reconstruction in Gaza alongside “the disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from the Palestinian governance”.

This last-ditch push for diplomacy comes as ceasefire talks falter. Israel’s assault on Gaza will soon enter its twentieth month leaving at least 60,000 dead.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under pressure from his party to annex the West Bank, and is reportedly considering annexing parts of Gaza to keep far-right members of his cabinet in government.

Brian Finucane from the International Crisis Group said that recognition of Palestinian statehood was about “a desire to be seen as doing something” among some in the international community.

“Leaving open the question of what consequences – if any – will flow from this as a practical matter, the ‘do something’ option is what we see states landing on as they don’t have a lot of other good choices. They feel domestic political pressure to respond in some way to the horror in Gaza, but they don’t want to alienate the Trump administration by taking stronger steps.”

Washington still responded with diplomatic force, sanctioning PLO officials for “initiating and supporting actions at international organisations”, support for terrorism and non-compliance with diplomatic agreements. The State department’s report to Congress accuses the PLO of “taking actions to internationalise its conflict with Israel such as through the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice”.

It took decades for Yasser Arafat’s 1988 declaration of Palestinian independence to find recognition at the UN, where Palestine gained non-member observer status in 2012. While a growing number of states recognise Palestine, full UN membership has long been seen as a non-starter due to blocks by Washington.

Palestinian membership of other international bodies has proven impact, particularly the international criminal court, which it joined in 2015. This paved the way for the ICC to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes.

Finucane said that wider recognition of a Palestinian state could bolster legal efforts in Europe against Israeli military officers also accused of committing war crimes in Gaza. Meanwhile, recognition of a Palestinian state could aid international efforts to push back against Israeli annexation of Palestinian territory.

Unlike in Ukraine, where Washington and Europe have bolstered Kyiv’s efforts to militarily resist Russian annexation, similar support for the Palestinian Authority appears remote. “At this point it’s a distant prospect,” said Finucane.

Abu Eid pointed to the gap between the symbolic value of recognition, and potential further steps needed to make change on the ground. “What recognition of Palestine does is send a concrete message that Israeli plans to annex or occupy Palestinian territory will not be acknowledged, and at the same time it tells the Palestinian people there is concrete support for our right to exist within our homeland,” he said.

“The question is how to link recognition to concrete measures to end the Israeli occupation. For example, are countries going to take action on domestic companies profiting from the Israeli occupation, or prevent organisations from fundraising for Israeli settlements like in Britain? These are practical questions to implement the will being shown by recognising the state of Palestine.”