Recognising a Symbolic Palestinian State Will Only Help Israel’s Far Right Block a Real One

Good statecraft depends on marrying objectives and means. So are those now recognising a Palestinian state spelling out an objective that they have the means to act on it—and is it even an appropriate objective at this point? The answer, regrettably, is no to both. No one who is presently calling for Palestinian statehood can do much to bring it about. In theory, if Israel is believed to be the main impediment to Palestinian statehood, pressure on it could get it to modify its positions. But since October 7, 2023, Israelis across the political spectrum see a Palestinian state as likely to be led by Hamas and as a mortal threat. As one senior Israeli official said to me, “If we have only our fingernails to fight with, we will prevent that.” Pressure from the outside is not going to change that sentiment; only when Israelis see a transformed reality among Palestinians where Hamas is clearly condemned and rejected, and the continuing narrative of resistance is replaced by one of co-existence, will it become possible to alter that perception...

Read the full article on the Jewish Chronicle website.