Palestinian state recognition grows as U.S., Israel boycott UNGA summit
A Palestinian state is getting a powerful new push.
Dozens of world leaders will gather Monday to rally support for a two-state solution, with the U.S. and Israel set to boycott as they find themselves increasingly isolated by a rising tide of traditional allies responding to Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip.
The summit, convened by France and Saudi Arabia, comes after the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Portugal all announced their formal recognition of the state of Palestine on Sunday, with several other nations expected to follow suit at the United Nations General Assembly this week.
These Western powers may be hoping to breathe new life into the idea as a way to resolve the conflict, but Israel’s hardline government has instead vowed to retaliate while pressing ahead with its deadly assault on Gaza City that has forcibly displaced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon said both Israel and the U.S. would boycott Monday’s summit, branding it a “circus.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decried the moves as a “huge reward to terrorism” and vowed there “will be no Palestinian state.”
The Trump administration has also warned of possible repercussions for countries taking measures against Israel, including France, whose President Emmanuel Macron was expected to officially recognize Palestine later Monday, according to Reuters.
Hopes for a two-state solution, which would see an internationally recognized Palestinian state in territories seized by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, have dwindled in the midst of Israel’s nearly two-year offensive in Gaza — and as efforts to negotiate a ceasefire to end the war and free remaining hostages have repeatedly failed.
Palestinian statehood is now formally recognized by around 75% of U.N. member countries, but that recognition remains largely symbolic.
Gershon Baskin, an Israeli who has acted as a mediator with Hamas for decades and a staunch advocate for a two-state solution, said that he welcomed growing recognition of Palestinian statehood. But without further action, including sanctions against Israel, he said the move will do little to “change the lives of Palestinians” on the ground.
“It’s really a step in the right direction,” Baskin said in a phone interview Monday of the summit at the UNGA. But, calling Israel’s offensive in Gaza “a genocide,” he said, “the most important thing now … is to end the war in Gaza and that comes before everything else.”
It is unclear how effective Monday’s summit will be in advancing efforts to end the war in the face of furious opposition from Israel and the U.S., which blocked Palestinian officials from even attending the U.N. gathering.
Baskin noted the possibility of retaliation from Israel in response to the diplomatic moves by France, the U.K. and others, with far-right members of Netanyahu’s government pushing for the annexation of part of the occupied West Bank.
Speaking with the BBC ahead of Monday’s summit, British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said she had directly warned her Israeli counterpart against such a move.
“We have been clear to the Israeli government that they must not do that,” Cooper said, adding that Britain’s decision to recognize Palestinian statehood was taken as “the best way to respect the security for Israel as well as the security for Palestinians.”
Baskin warned that any “annexation steps by Israel, which would be illegal against international law” would only result in further isolation of the country on the international stage, as he encouraged talks toward a two-state solution to continue.
“This conflict has to be resolved — and the only way to resolve it is through the two-state solution,” he said.
