- “I think this will be the starting gun for what we hope will be a sprint, not even a march, toward realizing the two-state solution,” Zomlot said.
- This move by Britain was significant given its role in supporting a “national home for the Jewish people in Palestine” in 1917.
LONDON: Recognition of a Palestinian state by leading Western countries would give a boost to the process of achieving a two-state solution, the head of the Palestinian mission in London said on Tuesday.
Britain, France, Canada, Australia and Belgium have said they will recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly later this month, although London could halt the process if Israel eases the humanitarian crisis in war-torn Gaza and commits to a long-term peace process.
The moves are aimed at pressuring Israel to stop its attacks on Gaza and limit the construction of new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, but some question whether the recognition is purely symbolic.
“I think this will be the starting gun for what we hope will be a sprint, not even a march, towards realising the two-state solution, and we look forward to an active, effective and meaningful role for the UK,” Hussam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian mission in London, told Reuters.
Israel, which has faced international outrage over its handling of the Gaza war, has reacted sharply to the gestures of recognition, saying they would reward Hamas. On October 7, 2023, militants from the Palestinian group attacked southern Israeli settlements near the border, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages in Gaza, according to Israeli figures. A two-state solution would see the two sides coexist peacefully: a Palestinian state in the territory Israel captured in the 1967 war, with the Gaza Strip and the West Bank connected by a corridor through Israel.
Over time, however, the proposal has become less viable as Israel has accelerated the construction of Jewish settlements in the occupied territory, while both sides maintain uncompromising positions on core issues including borders, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem.
Zomlot said Britain’s move was significant given its role in supporting “a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine” in 1917. He said it was not too late to achieve a two-state solution and expressed hope that the momentum building at the UN would encourage Israel to dismantle its settlements.
“Once we create enough pressure – meaningful pressure – I assure you it is absolutely possible,” he said.
In 2024, the UN Supreme Court declared that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and its settlements there were illegal and must end as soon as possible.
Israel’s right-wing government rules out a Palestinian state and says the areas where settlements have grown are not legally occupied because they are in disputed lands. It cites biblical and historical ties to the lands.