Let’s Debate: Palestine. To Recognize or Not to Recognize?
Are countries like France and Canada right to recognize a State of Palestine?
Last week, France announced that it would recognize a State of Palestine alongside Israel come September. Yesterday, Canada confirmed that they would recognize a Palestinian state as well. The United Kingdom is mulling joining them if a ceasefire is not reached in Gaza.
Is recognition of Palestine a necessary shock to the system after decades of stale thinking? Or is it a hollow gesture that puts an already-distant Israeli-Palestinian peace further out of reach?
Evan Gottesman, Renew Democracy Initiative’s director of communications and special projects, argues in favor of France’s recognition of Palestine:
The French move is part of a full court press to organize European and Arab states around a political strategy to end the Gaza war, dismantle Hamas, and subvert the untenable status quo ante in Israel and Palestine.
Read the case for recognizing Palestine.
RDI CEO Uriel Epshtein argues against the French decision to recognize Palestine:
Preemptive recognition gives the Palestinian leadership no incentive to make any of the tough decisions required to improve their capacity to govern. They can enjoy flashy ribbon-cutting ceremonies at embassies in Paris and Ottawa while their popularity plummets at home and their institutions continue to decay.
Read the case against recognizing Palestine.
Both Evan and Uriel support self-determination for Palestinians and Jews via a two-state solution. But they disagree about the tools needed to pull Israelis and Palestinians out of their deadly downward spiral.
RDI is committed to showcasing different points of view in order to sharpen our thinking and produce smarter policy outcomes. To see the logic behind our debates at The Next Move, read this note from RDI founder and chairman Garry Kasparov.
Check out the full debate:
France Is Right to Recognize Palestine
And Canada is right to join them. Other countries should follow France’s example and recognize a Palestinian state.
France Is Wrong to Recognize Palestine
The international community needs to pressure the chief culprit in the Israel-Gaza conflict: Hamas.
Recognizing a State of Palestine, which does not come without conditions, is welcome on ethical, historical and political grounds, and timing is not the issue. Now both Hamas and the Israeli government reject a two-state solution and can jeopardize any altogether. So, will the Palestinian Authority be able to reform itself without more delay, evince Hamas and convince its public opinion as well as Israelis' that a peaceful two-state solution is feasible ? Not without the support and active help of Arab and Western countries, for sure, and if other G20 countries could get involved, why not ? In other words, let's revive multilateralism, for God's sake !
Yes. They are correct. I’ve been an extremely outspoken advocate for Israel, but the abandonment of the 2 state solution is not acceptable.
The Arab states surprised me this week by echoing my own feelings. Remove Hamas, then get recognized as a state. That would be a win for Israel, and an even bigger win for the rest of the world.
Netanyahu does not have Israel’s best interest in mind on this issue. Before Hamas took the exclave in 2008, there was much more optimism in Israel about making peace with Palestine.
I don’t care for the timing of the UK , Canada and France decisions, but I would betray myself if I argued against what they are doing here. I support the 2 state solution, so I support the recognition of Palestine. It’s never a good time to reject their statehood. That’s a terrible message to send to the world. Sovereignty does not come with conditions. Uriel has this messaging issue backwards.
Hamas might feel that this recognition is a gift for them right now, or they might pretend that it’s a gift, but they will come to understand that this whole concept is about removing them and handing off power to the PA.
Any and all discourse that breaks the anti-Israel stigma and forces antizionists to reckon with other worldviews is a huge win for society. These conversations are essential. Antizionists should be made to understand that Hamas is the only barrier to statehood, and their entire premise of genocide is an outrageous misunderstanding.
Edit: Israel being verbally opposed to a 2 state solution should not be treated like that option is off the table. It’s a negotiating stance. We need to compel them to realize this is their best chance to claim victory in Gaza. Nobody knows what they will agree on behind closed doors unless you’re in the room where it happens.