September could be a decisive moment for Palestine

Next month could be a major turning point for Palestine as France, Britain, Canada and six other countries are set to extend recognition of a virtual Palestinian state. While enjoying three of the four attributes that define statehood — a permanent population, a government and relations with other states — Palestine does not exercise control over sovereign territory. Recognition is to take place at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly which opens on September 9th with addresses from world leaders.

The Trump administration has criticised these countries and tried to punish the Palestinians by imposing sanctions on so-far unnamed Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) officials who could be denied visas to attend the General Assembly. Washington has justified its stand by claiming ‘the “the two Palestinian organisations have ‘taken actions to internationalise’ their conflict ‘with Israel, including through the International Criminal Court, and said both had continued ‘to support terrorism.’” On the latter charge, neither the Authority nor the PLO supported Hamas’ October 7th, 2023, raid into southern Israel during which 1,139 Israelis and visitors were killed and 250 abducted.

The US previously excluded Palestinian leaders from the opening of the annual Assembly session. Although he had addressed the General Assembly in 1974, the US refused PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat a visa for the 1988 opening. A special session was held in Geneva in mid-December to enable Arafat to speak.

After this debacle, his successor, Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas, has addressed the opening session of the Assembly for nearly two decades.

Palestine has been recognised by 147 of the UN’s 193 members, 75 per cent, but the US has vetoed its full membership. Consequently, Palestine has observer status which permits it to attend and participate in General Assembly and Security Council sessions but not to vote. Palestine also has gained membership in UN-related institutions despite US objections.

Palestine has sought recognition as a state since November 15th, 1988, when the Palestine National Council, the parliament-in-exile, issued the declaration of independence in Algiers. Written by Palestinian national poet Mahmoud Darwish, the declaration called for a mini state in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza occupied by Israelis in 1967 instead of the whole of Palestine.

This amounted to a strategic shift in policy by the PLO which had demanded a Palestinian state in the whole of Palestine. The shift was in line with UN Security Council resolution 242 of November 1967 which called for Israel to withdraw from territories seized that June.

Following its independence declaration, Palestine was instantly recognised by Algeria, Malaysia, Morocco, Turkey, Yemen, and Somalia. On December 15th, 1988, the General Assembly acknowledged the declaration of independence and recognised Palestine rather than the PLO as representing Palestinians within the UN system. Palestine subsequently gained recognition from states in Asia, Africa, the non-aligned group, and Eastern Europe and by the end of 1989, 94 states had recognised Palestine.

EU members Ireland and Spain and Norway recognised Palestine last year. In addition to France, Britain, and Canada, Andora, Finland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Portugal, San Marino, and Malta are set to recognise Palestine this year. Australia has refused to fix a time while Germany and Italy do not intend to offer recognition.

The addition of France and Britain will mean that four of the five permanent UN Security Council members (including Russia and China) will have recognised Palestine. The US is the sole hold-out.

The Trump administration has criticised the process of recognition and has threatened to impose high tariffs on Canada for taking this action. Donald Trump has fully backed Israel in its war on Gaza and blockade of the strip which has starved 2.3 million Gazans and has been branded genocide by prominent Israeli human rights groups B’Tselem and Israeli Doctors for Human Rights as well as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Israeli experts on genocide.

B’Tselem dubbed the terrible and tragic situation in Gaza “Our Genocide” and stated: “For nearly two years, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza, acting in a systematic, deliberate way to destroy Palestinian society there through mass killing, causing serious bodily and mental harm and creating catastrophic conditions that prevent its continued existence in Gaza. Israel is openly promoting ethnic cleansing and the destruction of life-sustaining infrastructure for individuals and the group, with 2 million people starved, displaced, bombed, and left by the world to die. The genocide must be stopped.”

Israeli Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) presented a position paper entitled “Destruction of Conditions Of Life: A Health Analysis of the Gaza Genocide.” PHR stated, “ Over the past 22 months, Israel has systematically targeted medical infrastructure across the Gaza Strip, attacking 33 of 36 of Gaza’s hospitals and clinics depriving them of fuel and water. More than 1800 of Gaza’s medical staff have been killed or detained.” PHR argued that this assault is “a deliberate, cumulative dismantling of Gaza’s health system, and with it, its people’s ability to survive. This amounts to genocide.” Haaretz reported in a podcast that the “mass starvation and death in Gaza seems to have finally cut through the layers of denial and media self-censorship in Israel – and in both Arab and mixed cities – demonstrations against the horrifying humanitarian situation are drawing thousands of protesters.” Haaretz said three out of four Israelis want to end the war which Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu prosecutes to maintain his fragile coalition. It is now a minority government since two ultra-Orthodox religious parties have exited because he did not pass a law granting military exemption to their youths.

Israel’s war on Gaza propelled France and Saudi Arabia to hold a conference in New York last week to urge countries round the world to recognise the Palestinian state and press for the two-state solution. The conference, attended by 125 countries, issued a call for a ceasefire in Gaza, Hamas’ handover to a new administration, and a roadmap for the step-by-step establishment of a Palestinian state.