A number of western countries recognize Palestinian statehood

The 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York will begin on Monday, with the focus of the session on the situation in Palestine. Croatian President Zoran Milanović will address the session Wednesday and has already announced that his focus will be on the international recognition of Palestinian statehood.

The United Kingdom, Canada and Australia have officially recognized the state of Palestine. In separate messages, the leaders of the three countries stressed the need to achieve a two-state solution and a peaceful future for Israel and Palestine. In his address British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the death and destruction were horrifying to everyone and that the famine in Gaza was completely unacceptable: “I state clearly as Prime Minister of this great country, that the United Kingdom formally recognizes the state of Palestine. Today we join over a hundred and fifty countries who recognize a Palestinian state also. We must channel our efforts, united together in hope, behind the peaceful future that we want to see. An end to the violence, and end to the suffering, and a shift back towards a two-state solution as the best hope for peace and security for all sides.”

The move was announced earlier by Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Justice, David Lammy: “What do we say to the children of a future Palestinian state? Do we say; we have to wait for the perfect conditions before we can recognize a Palestinian state. Or do we say, when we see the E1 development, the expansion plans, the Israeli government now have in the West Bank, when we see the decision not to move towards a ceasefire, but instead to attack Qatar, and set back that ceasefire, do we say to them; No, you cannot have that Palestinian state that is your dream? And I think that's the assessment, not just the UK, but France, Australia, Canada and Belgium are making at this time. Hamas is not the Palestinian people. A Palestinian state is a just cause.”

Meanwhile, Pope Leo XIV expressed the solidarity of the Catholic Church with the Palestinian population of the "martyr land" of Gaza, praising initiatives throughout the Church that express solidarity with our brothers and sisters who are suffering in Gaza: “There is no future based on violence, forced persecution, revenge. Nations need peace. Those who truly love, work for peace.”

However, the new wave of recognition comes amid an Israeli ground offensive in Gaza City, where some fifty Palestinians had been killed by noon alone.

Meanwhile, in response to concerns that the expansion of Israel's offensive in Gaza could trigger a mass exodus to the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt has deployed additional forces to Sinai, which borders the war-torn Gaza Strip and Israel. With tensions between the two countries already high, Cairo is increasingly concerned that the expansion of Israel's offensive in Gaza could trigger a mass exodus to Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

Source: HRT