By Javier Otazu
United Nations (EFE).- The United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, three countries traditionally allied with Israel, made the historic move of recognizing the Palestinian State on Sunday. Hours later, Portugal and France also joined. Five other countries are expected to do so on Monday.
These four countries appear to have coordinated the recognition on the eve of the “Conference on the Implementation of the Two-State Solution,” which will be held on Monday at the UN General Assembly in New York.
The United States intended to hinder the conference by denying entry visas to the Palestinian delegation. However, they will participate via teleconference after an ad hoc vote on Sep. 19 by the same assembly.
The UK’s decision carries significant symbolic weight, as it was the former colonial power that signed the Balfour Declaration in 1917. That document approved the creation of a “national home” for the Jewish people in Palestine. This declaration is considered the historical origin of the State of Israel.
Although 147 countries had already recognized the Palestinian State before Sunday, none of the world’s most advanced economies, collectively known as the G7, were among them.
Additionally, the UK and France are permanent members of the Security Council, the UN’s highest executive body, and they join China and Russia in opposing the US, which has been increasingly isolated within the Council in recent years.
Six times since the beginning of the Gaza war, the US has unilaterally vetoed Council resolutions calling for a ceasefire by Israel.
On Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed that its tanks had entered Gaza City as part of its offensive to take the Gaza capital and displace its 1 million inhabitants, simultaneously with the announcement of the four countries. One of the conditions for Western capitals to suspend recognition and give more time for negotiations was halting that offensive, but Israel has turned a deaf ear.
On the political front, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the decision: “It will not happen. A Palestinian State will not be established west of the Jordan River,” he said in a video released by his office.
Following Netanyahu, Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Saar took an even more radical stance, calling the decision “immoral,” “outrageous,” and “especially repugnant.”
As expected, the Palestinian National Authority applauded the decision. Its president, Mahmoud Abbas, considered it “an important and necessary step to achieve a just and lasting peace in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions” and anticipated that it “will pave the way for the implementation of the Two-State solution,” which would allow Palestine to live “alongside the State of Israel in security, peace, and good neighborliness.”
A list of conditions
Despite the diplomatic relevance of the recognition, which Israel had previously dismissed as “a gift to Hamas,” the decision comes with conditions that will be difficult to fulfill.
The four countries that took the step on Sunday agree on demanding that Hamas have no role in the future Palestinian State, even though Hamas is the majority force in Gaza.
They also demand that this future State recognize Israel’s right to exist and that the Palestinian Authority hold democratic elections. Additionally, the Palestinian Authority must implement far-reaching reforms in finance, governance, and education, according to the Canberra government. EFE
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