Will recognising Palestine make any difference?

Illustration of a Palestinian flag with a social media 'Like' symbol above it — There are ‘significant limitations’ to any practical impact of recognising Palestine as a state

(Image credit: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Shutterstock / Getty Images)

There’s little doubt the move by the UK, Australia, Canada and France to join 147 other countries in formally recognising the Palestinian state is “primarily symbolic”, said The Guardian. It is a “moment of real significance”, rebuking Israel and showing support for a two-state solution. “But nobody expects that it will end the war.”

‘Deliberate tactic to increase pressure’

Among the “significant limitations” to any practical impact is the US’ Security Council veto that would block any vote for full UN membership, said The Guardian. The Palestinian Authority “has no meaningful role in Gaza, and there is no prospect of the UK dealing with a Hamas-run government there”.

Nevertheless, it “could be a first step”, said Al Jazeera. “Recognition matters” because these countries “broke ranks”, said Rida Abu Rass, a Palestinian political scientist. “In terms of its impact, Israel finds itself further isolated, and I think that’s meaningful.”

The coordinated action is a “deliberate tactic to increase the diplomatic pressure on Israel”, said The Times. It sends a “clear message” that any attempt to “close off a two-state solution will leave Israel diplomatically isolated in a way that it has never been before”.

‘Beyond the realms of the possible’

The problem, said The Telegraph, is that “the two-state solution that Britain and most other countries officially support – and virtually everyone at the UN likes to applaud – has almost certainly slipped beyond the realms of the possible”. If anything, recognition could hasten its demise. Benjamin Netanyahu called the announcements “absurd” and “a reward for terrorism”, with many speculating he could use it as a pretext to annex some or all of the West Bank. Previous Israeli administrations had always held back for fear it could provoke Western allies into recognising Palestine. Now this has happened anyway “there is no reason for Israel not to proceed”.

That is the “real concern right now”, said The Independent, “that, without concrete action, recognising the statehood of Palestine will ultimately be pointless, as there won’t be anything left to be a state”.