CONGRATULATIONS TO THE STATE OF PALESTINE

I want to congratulate all of the countries that are now recognizing the State of Palestine. It’s about time! Regardless of what Israeli politicians say, you are doing the right thing.

I would like to make some important points:

• You can’t support the two states solution and only recognize one of them.
• Recognizing the actual right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and statehood while also recognizing Israel and the right of the Jewish people to statehood is not a prize for Hamas. Hamas never supported the two states solution and has always fought against the existence of Israel. So, let’s get real and cut the BS - recognition of the State of Palestine is a reward to the people of Israel and the people of Palestine and a declaration of understanding that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be resolved – and the only resolution of this conflict is the two states solution.
• Those countries which are recognizing the State of Palestine must now also hold the State of Palestine up to the commitments that President Abbas took upon Palestine in his letter to Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – democratic elections to be held by July 2026 open only to political parties that support the two-states solution and making peace with Israel; ending the system of paying terrorists and families of terrorists; education reform to remove hate from the school curricula and actively fighting against incitement.
• Let’s also realize that if 192 member states of the United Nations recognize the State of Palestine, but Israel does not, nothing on the ground changes for Palestinians. In order to end the occupation, which is what must happen, Israel must recognize the right of the Palestinian people to national self-determination and independence.  The recognition of the State of Palestine right now is mainly symbolic. The question that the world needs to answer is how to get Israel to recognize the right of the Palestinians to statehood.
• Israeli threats against the recognition of Palestine need to be treated in a reciprocal manner by the countries that Israel takes actions against.   
• Israeli annexation of the West Bank or parts of the West Bank or even parts of Gaza must be answered by very severe diplomatic and economic steps by all nations of the world – even the possible end of peace agreements by Egypt, Jordan, UAE, Bahrain and Morocco.
• Palestinian celebrations of their statehood recognition would best be greeted by clear statements that the recognition by the world of the right of Palestinian independence is the first step towards genuine peace between the State of Palestine and the State of Israel. If Palestinians want their state to have real meaning, they must understand that they will never enjoy true freedom if Israel does not enjoy true security.
• Last, we all need to understand that as long as the triangle of current leadership rules (Netanyahu, Abbas and Hamas) there will be no real progress to ending the conflict and making peace based on two states. Both Israelis and Palestinians are currently still living in trauma and it will take time to overcome the trauma – but the very first step that must be taken to move us along is the change of leadership on both sides of the conflict.