The Palestinian foreign minister claims that recognition advances the cause of independence and sovereignty
Varsen Aghabekian Shahin, the Palestinian Foreign Minister, stated that nations that recognized a Palestinian state this week were making a permanent move that upheld the two-state solution and advanced Palestinian independence and sovereignty.
Joining other countries in a move that has drawn criticism from Israel and the US, Britain, Canada, and Australia formally recognized a Palestinian state on Sunday in an effort to rekindle support for a two-state solution.
The time has come. Tomorrow is a milestone that we must build upon. Shahin assured reporters in Ramallah that it’s not the end.
It is an action that advances our independence and sovereignty. She spoke to Israel’s nearly two-year military campaign in Gaza, saying, “It might not end the war tomorrow, but it’s a move forward, which we need to build on and amplify.”
A Palestinian state will never exist, according to Netanyahu.
The move has drawn harsh criticism from Israel; several ministers have dismissed it as pointless, claiming it has little bearing on the situation on the ground. Some have maintained that direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians are the only way to establish a Palestinian state. There will never be a Palestinian state, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s declaration this month.
Citing Netanyahu’s comments at a ceremony this month to construct a new settlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank that would isolate Palestinian villages in the north from those in the south, Shahin said that Israel had no plans to engage in negotiations.
“This acknowledgment is undoubtedly not merely symbolic. “If countries are interested in maintaining the two-state solution, they must take this concrete, irreversible, and practical step,” Shahin stated.
The United Nations General Assembly in New York this week will see a number of nations recognize a Palestinian state, with France and Saudi Arabia spearheading attempts to rekindle support for the two-state solution.
The initiatives have been criticized by U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee as ineffective and a stunt. With growing international support for Palestinian statehood, Israeli leaders have been more adamant in their stances on settlement expansion and West Bank annexation.
This year, Israel has been increasingly isolated diplomatically as the U.S. and several of its closest allies have denounced the attack on Gaza. For encouraging violence against Palestinians, several have sanctioned Israeli officials.
Political pressure on Israel needs to change to economic pressure, according to Shahin, “to hold Israel accountable and protect the Palestinian people.”
“Gaza is burning today. Gaza is demolished today. People are being killed in Gaza on a regular basis now,” Shahin added, accusing Israel of committing genocide in the territory, a claim it disputes.
Last week, a United Nations Commission of Inquiry reached the same conclusion as two prominent Israeli human rights organizations and a scholars’ organization, Amnesty International: Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.
