Here Are the Reasons Why Recognition of Palestine Is Such a Big Deal

This shift moves the discussion away from whose land Palestine is to the relations between the two neighboring states. Peace talks would then focus on permanent borders, refugees, settlements, water rights, and economic cooperation. At the same time, recognition denies legitimacy to Israel’s occupation. As long as Israel persists in its unlawful presence, it will continue to face international opprobrium and fail to gain the legitimacy it seeks.

One of the most absurd arguments by Israel and its supporters is that this recognition by leading Western countries is a reward for terror. Palestinians for a century have been yearning for the right of self-determination. The 2002 Arab peace plan offered Arab and Muslim normalization with Israel if its army withdraws from Arab-occupied territories. Israel has unilaterally ended all negotiations with Palestinians since 2014 and has repeatedly refused offers made by Palestine’s President Mahmoud Abbas, who has been publicly opposed to Hamas and its methods for years. He supported, for example, the French-Saudi plan that calls for disarming Hamas.

Palestine has long met the requirements for statehood. In 2012, the U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to recognize it as a non-member state. The only obstacle to full U.N. membership remains the U.S. veto at the Security Council. Recognition by more states—including France and Portugal, along with the three mentioned above—further undermines Israel’s claim that the West Bank is “disputed” territory, a claim often rooted in religious or ideological justifications.