While the Netanyahu government maintains its plans, not responding to any humanitarian calls for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, international recognition of the Palestinian state continues.
When Norway, Spain, and Ireland announce their intention to recognize the Palestinian state, in the midst of the ongoing crisis in the cities and camps of Gaza, the matter carries messages and connotations that Israel did not even understand when Sweden recognized the state of the Palestinian people in 2014, or when Eastern European countries preceded it in 1988, before joining the European Union. Those included Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, which today constitute two countries: Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Undeniably, the strong support for Palestine’s legal status is becoming more established and consolidated day after day on the international scene, and enhances the Palestinians’ chance of obtaining full membership in the United Nations.
Recognizing the right of the Palestinian people to their independent state is consistent with the United Nations Charter, which stipulates “the right of nations and peoples to self-determination.”
However, some may say that this recognition, above all, is merely a political decision with symbolic connotations, and while it supports the Palestinians’ struggle for national independence, its impact remains limited as long as the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories continues.
This statement, in fact, represents an unjust simplification of what is happening on the international scene, and denies the state of punitive siege that arises day after day around the Hebrew state. The scene may turn into international isolation and boycott, which continues to carry a form of physical siege, even in the medium and non-medium terms.
What makes the recognition by the three European countries a few days ago a particularly disturbing matter for the Netanyahu government?
It is certain that the tripartite recognition decision came at a time when crises were unfolding over the heads of Netanyahu and his companions. Before that, the International Criminal Court is seeking to issue arrest warrants against the Prime Minister and his Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, on charges of genocide, war crimes, and many others.
This was preceded by the State of South Africa filing similar accusations against Israel before the International Court of Justice, and the scene gets worse when one listens to the Prime Minister of Norway, as he threatens to arrest Netanyahu if he is found on his country’s soil after the issuance of the warrant.
International recognitions of a Palestinian state are expected to come one after the other. Although France finds the time inappropriate, it does not consider the recognition a taboo, while Jeremy Corbyn, former head of the British Labor Party, acknowledges that the time has come for the British government to recognize a Palestinian state.
Are Israelis today more isolated than before?
Renowned British newspaper The Guardian acknowledges this fact, especially in light of sanctions imposed by the United States, Britain, and other countries on settlers and other extremist right-wing groups that support them, and without ignoring the possibility of enforcing a ban on the delivery of advanced and lethal weapons to the Israeli army.
Internally, it can be concluded that the sight of a banned Israel is something that exacerbates internal disputes and widens divisions, especially within Netanyahu’s government, which raises questions about the timeframe available for the continuation of his government.
Israel no longer has anyone to rely on except the United States. But those who watched the scene of demonstrators, angry at the White House policies regarding Gaza, objecting to the speech of Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in his last session before the Senate Relations Committee, can be concerned about the changes. In the future, Washington will no longer remain the absolute defender of Tel Aviv.
Between the demonstrations of university students and workers, and the resignation of a number of employees from various US administrations, the changing features of the large American masses will soon be troubling to Netanyahu and those around him, because they will force the apparent and hidden American state to realize the rights of oppressed nations and peoples, beginning with the Palestinians.
Within a decade and a half, that is, by 2040, the demographics of America will change, as the presence of the WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestants) will decline, in favor of other races.
The new recognitions indicate that the era of Americanization of global geopolitics is eroding, and that other international alternatives are seeking a peaceful political path that puts the Palestinian state at the forefront of its goals, regardless the objections of Ben-Gvir, Smotrich, and Netanyahu.
