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 !
I was hoping that Mr. Kasparov with his brain power, cultural and ethnic background would be voice of reason. But bringing this topic up for discussion, proved me wrong. Time to unsubscribe and look for voice of reason somewhere else.