What does recognising Palestine as a state really mean?

The UK’s announcement that it would recognise the State of Palestine if Israel doesn’t take ‘substantive steps’ has sparked discourse worldwide.

All eyes have been on Gaza as conditions worsen in the enclave. Israel controls all aid flow into the strip and denies any responsibility for the mass starvation, which has only increased in recent weeks.

The increasingly dire situation has prompted some countries, including the UK, to consider officially recognising the State of Palestine.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced last week that France would recognise Palestinian statehood at the UN General Assembly in September.

Canada also announced plans to recognise Palestine in the near future.

Palestine has long existed as a ‘quasi-state’. It has no capital or internationally agreed boundaries.

This means that recognising it is a major symbolic move from other countries, which are becoming increasingly outraged at Israel’s operations in Gaza.

What is currently considered the State of Palestine?

Palestine currently consists of two separate territories – the West Bank and Gaza – governed by separate Palestinian groups.

Hamas has ruled Gaza, the site of Israel’s ongoing war, since 2007. The Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority governs the West Bank.

They were initially connected by land under the United Nations’ partition plan in 1947, but Israel has absorbed much of that land in successive wars since then.

Although nominally governed by Palestinians, much of what is formally part of the West Bank is under Israeli control, with military checkpoints and segregated roads.

The Palestinian Authority controls just 17% of the West Bank, although this accounts for most of the area’s Palestinian population.

Israeli settlements, which break international law, have been set up in the West Bank, gradually encroaching on Palestinian territory and carving gaps between Palestinian cities, towns and villages.

Once opposed by Israel’s governments, the settlements received backing and military protection from the current administration of Benjamin Netanyahu.

Any peace agreement would likely require the removal of the 500,000 Israeli settlers from the West Bank, similar to Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in 2005.

It may also include other transfers of people and land between the two sides.

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Of course, however, there are people in Palestine who hope for a Palestinian state across all of the land currently consisting of Israel and Palestine, much like Israelis who hope for the same for themselves.

Is a two-state solution even possible?

The two-state solution is an approach which has been flouted for decades as a way to stop the conflict and tensions between Palestine and Israel.

It would mean both Israel and Palestine are recognised as their own states, ruling independently. It’s supported by many countries, including the Palestinian Authority, but Israel is vehemently against it.

Israel’s opposition to the two-state solution has made it a non-starter for years, but the idea is being floated again as other countries recognise Palestine.

Israeli academic Yossi Mekelberg told Metro: ‘It’s not a hopeless case. My argument, time and time again, is that the two-state solution is not the remedy for everything.

‘The remedy needs to be for everyone to enjoy the same political, civil and human rights – Israelis and Palestinians. The question is, which solution can best guarantee this?’

What does diplomatic recognition mean for Palestinian statehood?

The Palestinian Authority, formed in the 1990s, already operates in many ways like a state. It has 80 embassies globally and is represented at the UN as a non-member observer state.

Diplomatic recognition would give Palestine more authority internationally and send a signal to Israel that the world is not okay with how they have operated in Palestine.

‘It’s been nearly two years since the beginning of this. What happened on October 7th, of course, put most of the world on Israel’s side. It was a terrible massacre. But since then, what Israel is doing in Gaza has shifted public opinion – and rightly so,’ Mekelberg added.

‘We shouldn’t forget or ignore October 7th, but what’s happened since has made the Israeli government look much worse. 

‘The fact that it took so long for the international community to come together when 60,000 people, many of them civilians, children, non-combatants, were killed, and now the starvation of so many people when there’s so much food on the border. 

‘If there is any humanity left in the world, they should react to this. They should respond and ensure a ceasefire and end the war, send the hostages back, and reconstruct Gaza.

‘If you ask me, why are countries reacting now, I’d ask you: Why did they not react sooner?’

Why is Israel opposed to a Palestinian state?

Prime Minister Netanyahu advocates an autonomous Palestine with no military capability, and its security controlled by Israel, something unacceptable to most Palestinians.

This has been Israel’s position for 30 years, but the country has grown more wary of the prospect of a Palestinian state since October 7.

For Israelis, the bloodshed of that day confirmed their worst fears regarding what they believe to be the Palestinians’ intentions.

Earlier this week, the far-right Israeli minister of finance, Bezalel Smotrich, said something which encapsulates what many Israelis hope for the region.

‘The re-establishment of Israeli settlements in Gaza is no longer wishful thinking, but part of what has become a realistic work plan. Gaza is an inseparable part of the Land of Israel,’ he said.

Israelis believe they have a God-given right to the region, despite Palestinians having lived there for thousands of years.

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