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A Palestinian State and Western Hypocrisy
Members of the United Nations Security Council vote against a resolution by Russia and China to delay by six months the reimposition of sanctions on Iran during the 80th UN General Assembly in New York City, US, Sept. 26, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
During the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, the UK, France, Australia, Canada, and Portugal announced that they formally recognize Palestinian statehood under the rule of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
While the total number of countries recognizing Palestinian statehood is now more than 150, adding the UK, France, Australia, and Canada to the list is noteworthy because these countries are major US allies.
This renewed push for Palestinian statehood comes despite endless proof that the PA consistently supports and empowers terrorist attacks against Israelis, including via direct financial support to terrorists and their families (a policy known as “pay-for-slay”).
Furthermore, as documented by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), official PA television routinely calls on Palestinians to kill Israelis wherever they can be found, as in this broadcast on June 13, 2025:
O Allah strike the thieving Jews, Allah count them one by one, kill them one by one, and do not leave even one.
These calls to murder Jews are often answered by Palestinian civilians — but also by PA policemen and security forces, such as the deadly attack in July by two PA policemen on Israeli Shalev Zevuloni.
Responding to the PA’s clear support for terrorism, the US State Department on July 31 announced sanctions against the Palestinian Authority and the PLO:
… [which] are not in compliance with their commitments under the PLO Commitments Compliance Act of 1989 (PLOCCA) and the Middle East Peace Commitments Act of 2002 (MEPCA), including by … continuing to support terrorism including incitement and glorification of violence (especially in textbooks), and providing payments and benefits in support of terrorism to Palestinian terrorists and their families.
In the face of this widespread official Palestinian support for terrorism, it’s especially ironic that the current effort to support Palestinian statehood is centered on the United Nations, because United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373, passed after the brutal 9/11 terror attacks, required, among other things, that “all states shall:”
Refrain from providing any form of support, active or passive, to entities or persons involved in terrorist acts …
The resolution was explicitly passed under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which means that it has the force of international law for UN members and is legally binding.
Therefore, until the Palestinians clearly and effectively renounce violence and stop attacking Israelis, supporting Palestinian statehood and all that comes with it is clearly providing “support, active or passive, to entities or persons involved in terrorist acts,” in blatant violation of international law under UNSC Res. 1373.
If violating this resolution were not enough, acquiescing to Palestinian demands for recognition of statehood, without a prior peace agreement with Israel, is also a stark violation of the Oslo peace process. For example, the Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum (Sept. 4, 1999), declared:
Recognizing the necessity to create a positive environment for the negotiations, neither side shall initiate or take any step that will change the status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in accordance with the Interim Agreement.
In addition, the Middle East Quartet (United Nations, European Union, Russian Federation, and the United States), in a statement issued on June 26, 2009, affirmed that:
… unilateral actions taken by either party cannot prejudge the outcome of negotiations and will not be recognized by the international community.
Thus, Palestinian appeals for statehood or a Palestinian unilateral declaration of statehood are a fundamental and grave violation of its signed agreements with Israel, and call into further question the worth of any future Palestinian commitments to Israel or the international community.
Similarly, support for or acquiescence to such a Palestinian move by the United Nations, the European Union, or its member states is a clear violation of agreements that the UN and these countries have signed and endorsed, and also call into serious question the value of any of their future commitments.
The unfortunate reality is that these cynical European-led efforts to unilaterally create a Palestinian state directly harm the prospects for peace, reward Palestinian terrorism, encourage Palestinian intransigence, and guarantee further violence and conflict.
Alex Safian, PhD, was until recently the Associate Director and Research Director of CAMERA, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.