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Why Imposing a Palestinian State Would Be a Massive Mistake
Members of the United Nations Security Council meet on the day of a vote on a Gaza resolution that demands an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan leading to a permanent ceasefire, and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, March 25, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
Ambivalence, if not outright hostility, towards Israel has been around in Europe and the West for a while, perhaps for decades. Three of our so-called allies managed to escalate it into hostility not long ago. The UK, Canada, and France have forcefully condemned Israel’s continuation of the war in Gaza. They find Israel’s war to stop the genocidal rule of Hamas inexcusable. Their proclamations have prompted a few other European “friends and allies” into action. They have decided that because of Israel’s intransigence in refusing to end the war in Gaza, it is up to them to take the reins of leadership — and some are advocating for the immediate recognition of a Palestinian state.
In addition, the EU is deliberating whether to impose targeted sanctions to punish Israel for the situation in Gaza and the continuation of fighting. Obviously the images coming from Gaza are difficult to watch — but they are being caused by Hamas, which refuses to end the war by releasing the Israeli hostages and giving up control of Gaza — and also because Hamas has been stealing international aid and killing any Palestinians that protest their rule. None of this seems to be landing in European capitals, however.
Why isn’t the EU pressuring Hamas, and perhaps even more so Qatar, the main enabler and financier of Hamas, into returning the hostages, disarming, and leaving Gaza? Is it because of a deep-seated animosity toward a Jewish state, or perhaps due to pressure from their large Muslim populations, which are significantly against the existence of a Jewish state? Isn’t Europe aware of the rising level of antisemitism — or do they not care? Perhaps 80 years after the Holocaust, they are tired of hearing Jews complain.
Even as France and other countries push for the recognition of a Palestinian state (which would be a reward for terrorism, if done in response to Oct. 7, 2023), it is Israel’s courage and actions that are transforming the Middle East, so far without involving Palestinians. It is Israel who weakened Hezbollah enough to give Lebanon literally fresh air and a chance for democracy, not French President Macron’s neo-colonialist ambitions. Israel also provided the environment for the people of Syria to overthrow Bashar al-Assad, and Israel is the country building ties across the Arab world.
Any effort to establish a Palestinian state in the UN General Assembly would happen under the auspices of Philémon Yang, the UN General Assembly President, who declared that it is time to end more than 70 years of wars between Israel and Palestinians. He added that this requires the end of Israeli occupation and the implementation of UN resolutions aimed at ending these wars. Yang either forgot or doesn’t know the history of the region — and how the UN has undermined peace and the security of the Jewish state at almost every instance since 1948. To talk about a just peace and living with dignity in two states after the massacre of October 7 without first getting rid of Hamas, freeing the remaining hostages from Hamas clutches, and acknowledging Israel cannot safely go back to its 1967 borders is ludicrous.
Perhaps Yang can convince Palestinians to extend a genuine peaceful gesture to Israel. This would go a long way — but it’s extremely unlikely any meaningful gesture can or will happen given the Palestinians’ history of supporting terrorism and denying Israel’s right to exist. Any effort to unilaterally establish a Palestinian state under these conditions would only lead to more violence.
Jaroslava Halper, a daughter of Holocaust survivors, grew up in communist Prague, experienced the Six-Day and Yom Kippur wars from a distance, but lived through Prague Spring and Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. She escaped to Canada in 1976, where she finished her MD at the University of Toronto. She trained in pathology at the Mayo Clinic, where she also obtained a PhD. She is a professor of Pathology at the University of Georgia in Athens GA. She considers it of utmost importance to defend Israel and Judaism (at least in writing), and fight antisemitism.
The post Why Imposing a Palestinian State Would Be a Massive Mistake first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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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.