London, United Kingdom – Several European nations formally recognised a Palestinian state at the 80th United Nations General Assembly this week, in a coordinated effort to revive the two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.
France, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Andorra and Belgium were among the nations that recognised Palestinian statehood at the UN General Assembly on September 22, bringing global recognition to 81 percent of the international community.
Nevertheless, the Palestinian delegation remained notably absent from the historic Assembly after the United States government denied and revoked their visas.
The United Kingdom contributed to the diplomatic push from London, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer announcing on Sunday, September 21:
“To revive the hope of peace and a two-state solution, I state clearly that the United Kingdom formally recognises the State of Palestine.”
French President Emanuel Macron echoed this sentiment a day later in his opening address as Assembly chair, telling delegates: “We must do everything within our power to preserve the very possibility of a two-state solution. Israel and Palestine living side-by-side in peace and security”.
Speaking only days after a UN inquiry reported “clear signs and evidence of genocide” committed by Israel in Gaza, Macron told the 193-member Assembly that “we can no longer wait” to realise the promise of a Palestinian state, as laid out in the 1947 UN Partition Plan.
The twin announcements from the UK and France mean that four of the UN Security Council’s five permanent members now recognise a Palestinian state.
The significance of European recognition for Palestinians
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghahekian Shahin hailed this wave of international recognition as “bringing us closer to sovereignty and independence.”
“Recognising our right to life and existence sends a very clear message that war, bloodshed, settlement expansion and annexation will not be tolerated – not by Palestinians and not by the world,” she told reporters in Ramallah.
Since the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza in October 2023, over 65,000 Palestinians have been killed, including over 20,000 children, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
In London on September 22, Palestine’s ambassador to the UK, Husam Zomlot, raised the national flag at a ceremony marking the Palestine Mission’s transition into an embassy. He honoured the victims of the 23-month war, saying:
“[The flag’s] colours represent our nation: Black for our mourning, white for our hope, green for our land, and red for the sacrifices of our people.” His words served as a solemn reminder of the enduring grief of the Palestinian people amid the ceremony’s jubilant atmosphere.
Ambassador Zomlot described the UK’s recognition of Palestine and the opening of the embassy as a “refusal to be erased, a refusal to be dehumanised”.
Israel’s response
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the UK’s recognition of Palestine a “huge reward to terrorism,” referencing Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023, that killed 1,195 people.
In a televised address on Sunday, he added: “It will not happen. There will be no Palestinian state west of the Jordan River.”
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, expressed similar resistance, saying “the recognition by Britain, Canada and Australia of a Palestinian state demands immediate countermeasures.”
He added that these measures would include expanding Jewish settlements in the West Bank to ensure “the immediate imposition of [Israeli] sovereignty… and the complete crushing of the Palestinian terrorist authority.”
Last month, the Israeli government greenlit the E1 settlement plan, which would create a new settlement block of 3,400 housing units, displacing 2,500 Palestinians from their land. The UN secretary-general warned that “if implemented, it would sever the Occupied West Bank – destroying the territorial contiguity of a Palestinian State”.
Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank has steadily increased since the territory’s capture in the 1967 war. There are now roughly 737,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank, a presence the International Court of Justice has repeatedly ruled illegal under international law.
Next steps
Israel’s persistent defiance of the international community and ongoing escalation of the war will raise doubts over the tangible impact of recognition for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
Ofer Cassif, an Israeli Parliamentarian, told Al Jazeera on Sunday: “recognition is a crucial first step toward peace… but it must not become an end goal by itself. A complete arms embargo on Israel must follow.”
On September 23, Spain’s council of ministers announced a “total” arms embargo on Israel, halting exports, imports and fuel transit. The government’s coalition partner Sumar said the decision aimed to “pave the way for the EU” to increase pressure on Israel to comply with international law and co-operate on a two state solution.
Featured image credit:
Image: Emanuel Macron speaking at the 80th UN General Assembly in New York
Credit: UN Photo/Loey Felipe
