Leader: it is time to recognise Palestine

The international community, though, is not powerless.  The condemnation of Israel by Canada's Mark Carney, the French president, Emmanuel Macron and the UK’s Keir Starmer – who have all stood staunchly by Israel’s right to defend itself after the barbarous acts of terror of 7 October – cut through. More people in Israel are aware of its deepening and dangerous isolation.

The proposed occupation of Gaza requires Israel’s allies in the world to go further, making clear that there are lines that cannot be crossed. The UK should now recognise Palestinian statehood.

The Balfour Declaration of 1917 expressed British support for a Jewish national home in Palestine, provided it did not prejudice the rights of non-Jewish communities there or of Jewish communities elsewhere. The declaration was vague on the definition and borders of this national home, but it was clear as a statement of principle. Eleven decades on, it is past time for a clear statement of principle by Britain on the need for a Palestinian state.

The argument against recognition has long been that it should be the prize of a peace negotiation, not a stepping stone towards it. Others say the two-state solution is, sadly, not a solution: in fact, it has served extremists on both sides better than the peacemakers. But Israel needs to know the world is determined to see Palestine on the map. Recognition of the Palestinians’ right to statehood in principle is a vital step, just as early support for a Jewish national home was vital for the foundation of Israel 30 years later.

No one should pretend it would, initially at least, be more than symbolic. But the alternative of a single state in which Israelis and Palestinians conjure a new harmony from the rubble is implausible. A two-state solution is elusive. But it is as essential as ever.

Balfour was unambiguous about the rights of non-Jews in Mandate Palestine. The rights of Palestinians in modern Gaza have been buried under Netanyahu’s campaign to crush Hamas. He put Britain, France and Canada on “the wrong side of history” for denouncing Israel’s strategies of conquest and starvation in the Strip. He has been on the wrong side of history himself, funnelling money to Hamas for years to sustain it in power and thwart progress towards a Palestinian state, and co-opting war to sustain himself in power.

There is a danger that the world wearies of outrage. But there is no reason to doubt a report yesterday of a Palestinian doctor losing nine of her 10 children to an Israeli airstrike; nor to doubt the anguish of Jews around the world at the fate of two young Israeli diplomats shot dead on Thursday night in Washington “for Gaza” – or at the thought that this conflict is only recruiting militants to Hamas and daily eroding support for the idea of state of Israel.

It is impossible to turn the clock back to before the atrocities of 7 October.  It must, however, be possible to keep in sight a principled vision of a future that promises security, prosperity and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians alike. The only prospect for that is, still, a two state solution.  The UK can help make that possibility a little more real by recognising the principle of Palestinian statehood now.

Photograph by Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu via Getty Images