The spectacle of Britain, France, Portugal, Canada, and Australia recognizing an independent Palestinian state this week was an exercise in diplomatic fantasy. The conceit? Anything can become a state if enough self-important world leaders wish it to be so – even a territory ruled by genocidal terrorists and lacking a unified, legitimate, and functioning government.
The fact that these announcements coincided with the beginning of the Days of Awe – the holiest days in the Jewish calendar – was as apt as it was offensive. For all their protestations about the need to bring home the hostages still being held captive by Hamas, or to exclude Hamas from a future Palestinian state, or for the Jewish people to live in peace, these countries just threw the perpetrators of the October 7 atrocities a lifeline.
Leaders like President Macron have made the laughable claim that this move will further the cause of peace – claiming that it will marginalize Hamas by empowering the illegitimate, unpopular, terror-supporting Palestinian Authority. Yet this war began and continues today because of the actions of Hamas and its backers in Tehran – and Hamas is naturally now claiming credit for these new calls for statehood.
Far from sidelining Hamas, this move will give them a new lease on life, while showing the world that terrorism gets results. What’s more, it hands them a critical source of leverage and removes any incentive to release the dozens of hostages who remain in captivity, let alone make peace. As President Trump said in his speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, “Instead of giving in to Hamas as ransom demands, those who want peace should be united with one message: Release the hostages now.”
The security implications of this gambit are grave and cannot simply be waved away. But to add insult to injury, none of the leaders who are now pushing for statehood can answer the most elementary questions about what this new state will be or how it will function. What are its borders, and how will that be decided? How can the Palestinian Authority – which has not held elections in 20 years – be considered a legitimate government, and why would Hamas ever assent to their taking control of Gaza (if that is indeed the plan)? The quality of strategic thinking is about what you’d expect from a college dorm room.
There is a better way – but it requires standing strong in the face of international pressure campaigns, and backing Israel’s efforts to defeat Hamas – and its Iranian backers – once and for all. It is clear that the state of Israel can never be safe if it is surrounded by forces that seek its destruction. Iran and its proxies throughout the region must be defeated – a project in which Israel has already made extraordinary progress. And just as bad actors must be isolated, other countries in the region must be incentivized to pursue peace and cooperation, as we did with the landmark Abraham Accords during my time as Secretary of State.
The approach taken by countries like Britain and Canada this week does the opposite: rewarding the terrorists who seek the destruction of Israel, and who persecute and steal from their own people. As history has shown us time and again, peace can never be secured by appeasing terrorists. Thank God Israel has learned that lesson, even if others have not.
