Étienne-Émile Baulieu, French scientist who invented abortion pill, dies aged 98
The doctor and researcher, who achieved worldwide renown for his work that led to the pill, had an eventful life that included fighting in the French resistance and becoming friends with artists such as Andy Warhol.
'His research was guided by his commitment to the progress made possible by science, his dedication to women's freedom, and his desire to enable everyone to live better, longer lives,' Baulieu's wife, Simone Harari Baulieu, said in a statement.
Baulieu's most famous discovery helped create the oral drug RU-486, also known as mifepristone, which provided a safe and inexpensive alternative to surgical abortion to millions of women across the world.
For decades, he pushed governments to authorise the drug, facing fierce criticism and sometimes threats from opponents of abortion.
When Wyoming became the first US state to outlaw the abortion pill in 2023, Baulieu told AFP it was 'scandalous'.
Then aged 96, Baulieu said he had dedicated a large part of his life to 'increasing the freedom of women', and such bans were a step in the wrong direction.
On news of his death, French equality minister Aurore Bergé passed on her condolences to Baulieu's family, saying on X he was 'guided throughout his life by one requirement: human dignity'.
Born on 12 December, 1926 in Strasbourg to Jewish parents, Étienne Blum was raised by his feminist mother after his father, a doctor, died.
He changed his when he joined the French resistance against Nazi occupation at the age of 15.
After the war, he became a self-described 'doctor who does science', specialising in the field of steroid hormones.
Invited to work in the United States, Baulieu was noticed in 1961 by Gregory Pincus, known as the father of the contraceptive pill, who convinced him to focus on sex hormones.
Back in France, Baulieu designed a way to block the effect of the hormone progesterone, which is essential for the egg to implant in the uterus after fertilisation. This led to the development of mifepristone in 1982.
Dragged before the courts and demonised by US anti-abortion groups who accused him of inventing a 'death pill', Baulieu refused to back down.
'Adversity slides off him like water off a duck's back,' Simone Harari Baulieu told AFP.
'You, a Jew and a resistance fighter, you were overwhelmed with the most atrocious insults and even compared to Nazi scientists,' French president Emmanuel Macron said as he presented Baulieu with France's top honour in 2023. 'But you held on, for the love of freedom and science.'
In the 1960s, literature fan Baulieu became friends with artists such as Andy Warhol.
He said he was 'fascinated by artists who claim to have access to the human soul, something that will forever remain beyond the reach of scientists.'
Baulieu kept going into his Parisian office well into his mid-90s. 'I would be bored if I did not work any more,' he said in 2023.
His recent research has included trying to find a way to prevent the development of Alzheimer's disease, as well as a treatment for severe depression, for which clinical trials are under way across the world.
'There is no reason we cannot find treatments' for both illnesses, he said.
Baulieu was also the first to describe how the hormone DHEA was secreted from adrenal glands in 1963.
He was convinced of the hormone's anti-ageing abilities, but drugs using it only had limited effects, such as in skin-firming creams.
In the US, Baulieu was also awarded the prestigious Lasker prize in 1989.
After his first wife, Yolande Compagnon, died, Baulieu married Simone Harari in 2016.
He leaves behind three children, eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, according to the statement released by his family.
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15 minutes ago
- Reuters
UK threatens jail for people smugglers who advertise on social media
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Times
6 hours ago
- Times
The no-diet, no-exercise, get-slim-quick hack
Ever wondered why celebrities always look so toned? Why their legs are free of cellulite and their cheekbones chiselled? It could be because they're getting regular lymphatic drainage massages, the beauty hack taking over Hollywood. While lymphatic drainage has long been used for athletes nursing injuries as well as for those recovering from surgery, it can also be a helpful tool for achieving a firm body free of bloat. This treatment works to stimulate the lymphatic system, a network of vessels, tissues and organs under the skin that help your body to drain unnecessary fluids. These are mainly around your neck, groin and armpits. Regular lymphatic drainage massages can help to manage puffiness and decrease your body's inflammation overall. One of the first formalised lymphatic drainage techniques was the Vodder method, initially developed by Dr Emil Vodder and his wife, Estrid, in France in the 1930s as a solution for swollen lymph nodes. The style of lymphatic drainage most commonly used today combines a light touch with pulsing and sweeping movements that can sometimes feel insignificant but done correctly can have a big impact. Other techniques apply deeper pressure, which can also help with getting rid of unwanted cellulite and loosening tight muscles. 'Using lymphatic drainage may have a temporary trimming effect because it helps move fluid through the body, like spreading a stack of papers from one end of the counter across the entire surface,' explains the website of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in LA. Whichever method you choose, most experts will agree that the more frequently you have these massages, the longer the effects will last. They can also bolster the health and strength of your lymphatic system if done regularly. When Gennari first arrived in the UK she noticed a gap in the market for beauty-focused lymphatic drainage massage, a practice that is popular in her native Italy. Over the course of 11 years the facialist developed her own method and last year opened her Notting Hill salon, The Skin Sculpter, where she offers full body lymphatic drainage massages as well as facials. Her skills are in high demand, particularly among celebrities including Anne Hathaway and Carey Mulligan before their red carpet outings. Gennari uses firm pressure and is best known for her buccal facial massage, which can be booked as part of a bespoke facial or facial massage. For this Gennari puts on rubber gloves and massages the cheeks and jaw from the inside out, creating a lifting effect. She recommends ten sessions, once a week, for best results. She also offers treatments that can help to activate your lymphatic system from home, including gauze wraps with serums, sculpting tools and top-notch beauty from £250, Ooi is an aesthetician, aromatherapist and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner operating out of Zen therapy rooms in Marylebone, London. Here, in addition to acupuncture and facials, the Meridian Circuit & Lymphatic Drainage treatment is offered. This combines gentle cupping along the spine and neck; soft brushing strokes around the tummy, and along knees and ankles where water retention can cause bloating; and gua sha stimulation of meridian points at the lower back, working in particular on warming the kidneys to activate unblocking. Ooi, who has a devoted celebrity clientele including Rooney Mara and Emma Mackey, has developed her own range of gua sha tools and oils that are used in the treatment, in particular the Circulation Elixir to promote circulation, digestion and drainage, which includes mugwort, hydacheim, cinnamon bark, wintergreen and clementine. These can be bought and used at home (the tools come with excellent step-by-step guides) between the six treatments that are recommended to reboot the system.£185 for 60min, Lymphatic drainage runs in Trévalinet's family. Her mother is also a lymphatic massage therapist and both were trained in the Brazilian Renata França method. This technique uses firm pressure, fast movements and pumping motions to help to stimulate the lymphatic system and is largely focused on toning and shaping. It isn't for the faint of heart — the pressure is hearty and Trévalinet is strong, but she is also deft, making the motions feel like a release rather than painful. This year Trévalinet and her mother, Emmanuelle, created their own method. The massage uses lymphatic drainage techniques alongside acupressure, helping to stimulate parts of the body that might also be hindering the successful functioning of the lymphatic system, and focuses on reducing inflammation. For best results Trévalinet recommends weekly sessions, for five weeks, and one session a month thereafter. She occasionally does house calls in west London and can also be found at the French Pharmacy in Marylebone, where you can stock up on cult beauty products from France as França massage from £150; Trevalinet method from £180. To book email or follow on Instagram @ Tucked away in Marylebone is one of London's newest optimisation hotspots. Rebase offers just about every hyped wellness trend — including hyperbaric oxygen chambers, red light therapy, infrared saunas, and cryo chambers. It is also home to one of the capital's most effective lymphatic drainage masseuses. Therapist Deodata Semionovaite, Rebase's lymphatic specialist, employs a relaxing but highly effective technique using pumping rhythms which feel hearty but not painful, as well as muscle tension release. The therapist is passionate about the mind-body connection and incorporates affirmations, so you will finish the hour long full body session by saying phrases like 'I am loved' and 'I let go of worry'. Semionovaite says these affirmations can, 'help calm the mind and create a sense of emotional and physical release' which she believes makes the massage more effective. This treatment is the perfect preamble to a trip to one of Rebase's many hot and cold therapy rooms, which also help rev up your body's lymphatic system. There is the ice bath and sauna room, which has eight ice baths and a sizeable traditional sauna, or for those hoping for a more private experience you can book in for one the private infrared sauna rooms, which fit up to three people. Each private room has two ice baths, a couch, and an infrared sauna fitted with a red light panel and bluetooth enabled speakers so you can listen to a podcast or your favourite song while you sweat it out. The red light panel will also do wonders for your sleep, mood, and inflammation. Rebase also offers guided breath-work classes conducted in tandem with ice baths in thelarger room, which teach you breathing tools for in and out of the cold water to make the most of your time (and increase your pain tolerance). Deo's Lymphatic Drainage Method at Rebase, 60min, £185. Private infrared and cold plunge suite, 45min, £150. Book at Whenever Amani got ill as a child, her Indian grandmother would use ayurvedic oils and massage to relieve her symptoms. Today she describes herself as 'a bit like a plumber, trying to get your body's drains unblocked' and is one of London's leading ayurvedic therapists, with salons in Pimlico and at Harrods in which she combines Indian and Brazilian methods to stimulate lymph flow. During a double-handed treatment, she and one of her practitioners work on their client from head to toe. First, warm oil is poured onto your belly 'to get the system moving'. Then while one of them vigorously rubs your body, pressing lymph points from the ears to behind the knees, the other pinches and presses and massages your face, using ayurvedic oils and warm flannels to stimulate, and finally a cold copper-ended 'wand' to sculpt the plumped cells. In addition to this whole body treatment, on the menu at Amani's salon you'll find options to book a manual Brazilian Bum Lift or ab sculpting. Amani also sells tools so you can continue to work on your lymphatic system from with Dimple Amani at Harrods from £370 (or £520 for Amani and another massage therapist), Tucked away in a discreet Georgian building behind Selfridges in London you will find Chelseé Lewis's treatment rooms. Her lymphatic facial promises to restore moisture to your skin and eliminate toxins. Using her own oil blend that contains vitamin A-rich cacay oil, Tunisian date seed as well as camomile and sandalwood, Lewis works on your face's contours and its glow. She has a gentle touch, but knows when to incorporate the firm pressure. The best part is you can purchase your own bottle of Lewis's oil to take home with you at the end of your visit to keep working on your cheekbones and from £180, A cult favourite, this machine-based lymphatic drainage and body contouring program gets results fast. It uses a device called the Icoone which 'mimics thousands of miniature massage actions, delivering 21,600 micro simulations per minute' using rollers that deliver a gentle suction which promotes circulation and combats water retention. This is coupled with Balancer Pro Technology which uses air compressions that go between compression and decompression which supports circulation and lymphatic drainage. There are different treatments and packages which target your face and body, and you can also opt for bookings that focus on individual areas of arrival at Ricari's cosy knightsbridge studio you will be provided with a neck-to-toe white leotard: this allows the machine to move more smoothly along your body and keeps it from tugging on your skin. Plus it's yours to keep for future appointments and can also be used if you feel like staging a ballet performance at home. For the appointment you are instructed to lie flat on a bed while the hand-held machine is moved over sections of your body by the practitioner. The effect is a very soothing massage feeling, and though certain areas can feel a bit tender it's not painful, rather more just like a deep pressure treatment. Appointments can last anywhere from 60-90 minutes. The effect is immediate — taught skin and diminished bloating. You might also find that the treatment helps support a sluggish digestive system. As in most lymphatic drainage treatments, the more frequently you go, the better the results. For optimal benefits, the studio recommends a course of 8-12 treatments over a period of 3-6 weeks, and then monthly appointments for maintenance. If you're prepping for an event, you can up this to two treatments per week for accelerated results. The good news is, Ricari has studios in New York, LA, London, St. Mortiz and the Cayman Islands, so you can keep up your routine going wherever you find yourself in the world. Signature body treatments from £245. Book at England, who operates at the NoMad hotel in London, is famous for her facial sculpting using flowing strokes for a neater jaw and sharper cheekbones. Lymphatic drainage has always been an important part of her approach, and now she has developed a new treatment focusing on this. The 75-minute Byonik Flow treatment combines lymph brushing and massage with the Byonik pulse-triggered laser, microcurrent and cryo-carboxytherapy to sculpt the face, reduce puffiness, eliminate toxins and restore luminosity. Slimyonik lymphatic drainage 'trousers', which come up right over the tummy and help to activate the lymphatic system, are an optional add-on. England has recently begun selling Cecily Braden's lymphatic brushes and can give her clients instructions on how to use these at home to keep the lymphatic system working between Flow, £290, Morellato is a celebrated physiotherapist (she counts Ellie Goulding and Sara Sampaio among her celebrity clientele), but the Brazilian is an expert in post-op care too. According to Morellato, a lymphatic drainage massage can be especially beneficial post surgical treatments, during pregnancy and for those suffering from lymphoedema and lipoedema. 'The lymphatic system is the body's first line of defence,' she explains. 'It plays an important role in our immune system.' She has a clinic in Belgravia and a residency at Harvey Nichols in London, where she offers her hero lymphatic drainage treatment. This is a gentle full-body massage consisting of rhythmic strokes and compression that can be tailored to individual needs. For anyone seeking regular support with a health condition, Morellato has developed a holistic Recovery Expert programme consisting of multiple sessions strategically distributed between pre and post-surgery phases. In addition to home visits within London, appointments are available at her clinic in Belgravia and at Harvey Nichols. Classic lymphatic drainage treatment from £280, An expert in both lymphatic drainage and its more hardcore sibling manual body remodelling, Bagnara is one of the wellness gurus now setting up shop at the Claridge's Spa in London. Every Wednesday he offers 90-minute treatments that cover everything from lifestyle, exercise and diet tips alongside a hearty lymphatic drainage massage. While the massage is full body, the therapist makes every treatment bespoke, with a special focus on specific areas in need of extra help with drainage. The remodelling element works to tone and lift the body, as well as helping to combat cellulite and water from £350, Sana Kirse isn't a miracle worker but she is very enthusiastic and realistic about what can be achieved with body sculpting and lymphatic drainage (alongside good hydration, diet and exercise). She's been working with lymphatic drainage for more than 20 years, honing her skills as a body-contouring specialist with various devices to ensure the most effective toning result. Using a combination of devices that employ radio frequency and magnetic pulses, she massages and manipulates the body into shape. This kick-starts the lymphatic system to move toxins and excess water, leaving behind smoother, more toned skin (it can be used to budge stubborn cellulite too). The treatments are non-invasive and while they can be a little uncomfortable at times, it's not painful when the machines glide around your problem areas. Kirse recommends ten sessions for significant body-sculpting results, but one treatment is effective if you want to look your best for a special Freeze from £185, Marylebone clinic The Ardour opened in early 2024 with a focus on science-based treatments, underpinned by the founding team's medical background. The Ardour aims to take a 360 approach, thinking about aesthetics in the context of a wider conversation about wellness which might include looking at how possible hormone imbalances can affect your skin and body and finding ways to support your skin from outside in. They even offer life coaching and have bespoke treatment plans with names like 'Stress Management Solutions, Harmonizing Change During Menopause and Thriving Post Divorce'. Whatever stage of life you are at, the clinic's Glow & Sculpt treatment is a winner. It uses a PowerSculpt machine, which looks a bit like a paddle and is strapped onto your body, emitting electromagnetic energy to stimulate underlying muscles, which can help with lymphatic drainage and reduces water retention by boosting circulation. When used in the stomach area it's the equivalent of 20,000 crunches in one 30 minute session, but less painful — the sensation is a bit like a deep pressure massage. Meanwhile a Dermalux LED Mask will be doing its thing on your face. This emits red, blue and infrared lights and can be adjusted according to your requirements, whether that is helping to manage redness, acne, or just giving you a healthy glow. Settings can help tackle acne and skin texture, but it will also increase circulation in your face, and help to manage inflammation and wrinkles. Six to eight treatments are recommended over the course of 4 weeks for best and Sculpt, £350 per treatment. Book at Emily Lansley, one of Kylie Jenner's favourite beauty specialists, offers a two-part pamper in the form of her 'Signature Sculpt & Glow Facial' at the Linnean Hotel in Nine Elms. The 75-minute treatment involves a bespoke facial treatment, alongside the Slimyonik Air Bodystyler and LED light therapy. The Slimyonik is a pair of pressure trousers that stimulates and activates the lymphatic system. While these do their thing, Emily works on your face, cleansing and exfoliating, along with a blast of LED and using a range of products depending on skin type, although one of her favourites is 'Acqua Di Rose' rose water by Santa Maria Novella. The central element of the treatment is Emily's expert deep tissue facial and buccal massage, which involves releasing jaw tension and inflammation by massaging inside the mouth. Fans report a more sculpted visage and a reduction in general bloating. Monthly appointments are recommended for maintaining from £250. Book at or call the Linnean at 0203 971 0805 Vidavii is London's first 'longevity circuit'. Founded by the duo Michal Cohen-Sagi and Noam Sagi, it uses three biohacking machines over the course of 30 minutes. The first stop is called Breathe. Here you step into a box fitted with Far Infrared lights which can promote cell regeneration, as well as blue and green lights which Vidavii say have various benefits, including helping to boost melatonin and serotonin. The room is also pumped with ionised oxygen which the brand claim can enhance cellular function and boost immunity over the course of the 8-minute session. After this portion of the circuit is finished you're escorted to the room right next door for Freeze, a cryotherapy session, where pain relief and anti-inflammatory and endorphin boosting benefits can be found. This room is extremely cold (minus 85C to be exact), but the Vidavii experts are on hand to help, giving you gloves, a face mask and a hat as well as headphones. The headphones are connected to songs which last the length of the time in the chamber so you can dance it out to Coldplay's Sky Full of Stars for example, while actual snow falls on you. This is definitely a helpful and welcome distraction. As soon as you're done, the lymphatic drainage magic starts in Squeeze,where you lay inside a metal tube called the Flow System made by a company called Art of Cryo. Your head and shoulders sticking out, and a wheel of thick plastic is fitted around your waist to keep the air in one place so your body experiences a 'continuous alternating pressure wave treatment'. It feels as though there is air squeezing and tightening around you and then loosening over the course of the 8-minute session. The best part is the benefits of Vidavii are not hypothetical. Upon arrival, all first-timers will receive a scan with the studio's Scaneca machine. It takes a 360, 3D scan of your body which looks at everything from your BMI to your waist-hip ratio, lean muscle mass and basal metabolic rate. All of these elements help give you a much more holistic understanding of your body and help the team at Vidavii personalise your time and settings in the machines so you can make the most of your circuits. This also helps you to track your progress over time. According to the brand, after the first two to four weeks of visiting two-three times a week you will begin to see a shift in your mental wellbeing, after three-four weeks you see a body change thanks to the loss of excess water retention, and after six-eight weeks you will begin to see more toned muscle. After a few months, they often see their clients decrease body weight and increase muscle mass, all of which can be tracked via the numbers on the scan, as well as the digital avatar it makes of your body. While the studio says that clients who increase their exercise while doing the circuits tend to achieve faster results, they see body composition changes in clients who keep their routines the same and simply add in Vidavii to their weekly routine. For those with more than 30 minutes to spare you can also hop onto the studio's Hydrobed, which gives you a circulation boosting water jet massage (though don't worry you don't get wet as the jets come up from within the water bed) as your face sits under an LED light panel which helps with cell turn over as well as aiding circadian rhythm modulation. Full circuit begins at £95. Book at Lymphatic drainage is just one part of the heavenly 90 minutes you'll spend enjoying the Bamford Tonifying Treatment, and as you lay — rose quartz eye mask in place — being gently brushed — yes, brushed — from head to toe, an act which promises to stimulate circulation, but may also encourage a nap, you may wonder if it is possible to be more relaxed. Answer: not likely. It gets better, by way of a full body exfoliant and massage using scrub made with cast-off organic Daylesford coffee grinds; a warm shower — and then more massage with warm oil. This preps skin for the hard graft: cupping therapy. Silicone cups designed to shift fluid in the muscle are glided across the legs, arms and, if you are comfortable, abdomen, to drain toxins and tone. It's all executed with Bamford's signature brand of bliss and wrapped up with a mini facial. Heaven — ask for Deidra.£220 for 90min, Billing itself as 'London's premier wellness and longevity clinic', The HVN offers a new Body Contour Massage designed to target puffiness, poor circulation and water retention. Tucked just off a busy Knightsbridge street, the space lives up to its name (HVN stands for haven) — a calm, understated space where you're greeted with herbal tea and soft, ambient sounds. The treatment itself is an hour-long deeply focused massage that blends lymphatic drainage with firmer, sculpting strokes. The holistic therapist Catia draws on more than a decade of experience in five-star spas across Europe, combining eastern traditions like Shiatsu and Ayurveda with western methods. Her approach is tailored and intuitive, but also impressively firm. This isn't the feather-light lymphatic massage some might give. At times intense, it's not always relaxing in the traditional sense, but it's highly effective. Designed to improve skin firmness and elasticity, enhance lymphatic flow and relieve postural tension, the massage offers a non-invasive way to reshape the body and restore vitality. The combination of techniques — think dry-brushing, cupping and a firm massage among other things — helps stimulate circulation, encourages detoxification and leaves you visibly more sculpted. Limbs feel lighter, skin smoother, and you walk out straighter. A course of five weekly treatments are recommended with two visits per month following this for maintenance. Body Contour Massage, 60min, from £210, It's hard to miss the prominent location of Repose Space on Kensington High Street. It's turned into one of west London's favourite biohacking bars, complete with everything from saunas and cryotherapy to aerial yoga and nutrition workshops. It is also home to an extensive lymphatic drainage offering provided by one of the three lymphatic drainage experts on hand, as well as a variety of other massage techniques from cupping to myofascial release, which can also be incorporated into the massage. This also includes a lymphatic drainage facial with buccal release. This massage works to drain and de-puff your face by targeting the main lymph drainage points, and in the process also helps to sculpt and release muscles thanks to its firmer pressure. The buccal massage, during which the therapist, wearing rubber gloves, massages your jaw from the inside, helping to release the jaw, can give a more chiselled look as jaw tension subsides. You will notice a change from the first session, but for best results the studio recommends at least three weekly sessions in a row before transitioning to monthly upkeep. Buccal massage and face sculpting, 60min, £150. Book at Su-Man has been training in the craft of massage for years, honing her skills and developing the ultimate 'no-Botox' lift through her targeted massage. For those keen to not go down the needles route but who are still eager to look more sculpted and toned, her Digital Damage Resculpt Facial is ideal. Su-Man created it to combat the side-effects of staring at a screen for too long and the associated sagging which can come from bad posture. Su-Man is no-nonsense while still bringing a deep care and kindness to the treatment. The bespoke session starts with a facial steam and skin assessment during which she will do everything from exfoliation and electrical muscle stimulation to blemish extraction. The massage then uses deep pressure, moving between face, chest, shoulders and neck, stimulating the lymphatic system. A foot and calf massage are also included. The end result is defined cheekbones and a more sculpted jaw, which, if you take Su-Man's advice and visit every six weeks, you will be able to maintain, despite all the doom scrolling. Digital Damage Resculpt Facial, 70min, £350. Book at
Times
10 hours ago
- Times
Palestinians are prisoners of geography, but statehood is possible
A rose may be a rose by any other name, but a territory is different. What's in a place name? Geography, history, identity and … politics. That is why most of what follows is disputed by one side or another, and why the Israel-Palestine conflict remains so intractable. In recent days, France, Canada and the UK announced plans to recognise Palestine as a state at the United Nations general assembly in September. Already 147 countries out of 193 at the UN recognise Palestinian statehood. However, that has not made the 'two-state solution' envisaged 32 years ago in the Oslo Accords any likelier. Last month, Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, said it was no longer a goal of American policy. But on Saturday Hamas said it would not disarm until Palestinian national rights had been restored, 'foremost among them the establishment of an independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital'. The statement left open if Hamas means all of Jerusalem but that is unlikely. In 2017 the group updated its 1988 charter and while it rejected 'any alternative to the full and complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea' it also said it considers a Palestinian state 'with Jerusalem as its capital along the lines of the 4th of June 1967 … to be a formula of national consensus'. This leaves the door open for Hamas accepting (possibly temporarily) Jerusalem being divided between its east and western parts, as it was before the Six Day War broke out on June 5, 1967. Perhaps emboldened by the global headlines that followed the French, British and Canadian announcements, Hamas appears to be trying to make itself part of future debate about statehood, including during the intense discussions which will come ahead of and during the UN General Assembly in New York. However, yesterday's statement brings us no closer to a ceasefire as it would take months if not years to negotiate the contours of statehood. The near future, like the past, brings areas of disagreement. They are always easier to spot than any common ground. Palestine is an ancient name, but its geographic area and political status have changed frequently over three millennia. The word derives from Philistia, the term the ancient Greeks used for a pocket of coastal land stretching along what is now Gaza. It was home to the Philistine people who had arrived from the Aegean in the 12th century BCE. The Israelites, who by then had conquered most of ancient Canaan, called them P'lishtim. The Philistines clashed with the Israelites, usually ending up on the losing side (see David and Goliath). They were eventually overrun by the Babylonians and by the 5th century BCE no longer existed as a people. Later, the Greeks referred to the entire land of Israel as Philistia, as did the subsequent Roman invaders who expelled most of the inhabitants of what they called Palaestina. Over the centuries this evolved into Palestine, or in Arabic, Falestina. History marched on, bringing with it the Islamic conquests, followed by the Ottoman Empire — both of which treated the land as part of a larger unit. Before the First World War, the terms Western Palestine and Eastern Palestine were used to refer to lands each side of the River Jordan, but contemporary understanding of existing political Palestine generally defines it as running from the River Jordan to the border with Israel — the West Bank — and the Gaza Strip. The Ottoman defeat in the First World War resulted in the Allies creating new political units. The British had issued the Balfour Declaration in 1917, promising to help create a Jewish homeland on the understanding that 'nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine'. The result was the Mandate for Palestine. Originally it was to include Transjordan (Jordan) but the League of Nations approved two separate mandates. Over 25 years there was an influx of Jews, many of whom bought land. The communities clashed and in 1947 the British handed the problem to the UN. It proposed two independent states, with Jerusalem internationalised. The Jews said yes, the Arab countries said no. The following year the State of Israel was declared, followed immediately by the first Arab-Israeli war, resulting in hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs fleeing, never to return. Jerusalem was divided, Egypt occupied Gaza, and Jordan annexed the West Bank. In the 1967 war, Israel captured East Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank, and began settling Jews in all of them. Since then, we have seen wars, uprisings, the building of the 'separation barrier', a withdrawal of settlers from Gaza but a huge increase in their numbers in the West Bank, and now the Gaza war. That is a rough and probably disputed tale of the Palestinian territories, but what of the people? Here we enter the emotional and mutually exclusive claims of historic tenancy and sovereign rights. Arab Palestinians point out they were the overwhelming majority of inhabitants for more than a thousand years. In 1917, they comprised about nine-tenths of the population. Many trace ancestry to the arrival of Arabs during the 7th century Islamic conquests. Others are from Syrian and Egyptian families who came seeking work in the early 20th century. A distinct Palestinian Arab identity had already begun to emerge in the 19th century, and there is now a strong sense of nationhood. Israeli Jews argue that there has been a continual Jewish presence in the lands for 3,000 years, and that this is the birthplace of their national identity. They contest the notion that they are alien to the region and point out that about 50 per cent of Israel's Jewish population are descendants of the 600,000 Middle Eastern Jews who were among the million or so who migrated, or were expelled from, Arab countries after 1948. The population of Israel now stands at 9.5 million, of which about two million are Arabs. The West Bank Palestinian population is 3.19 million and there are 2.1 million people in Gaza. However, the UN regards another 5.9 million people living outside the territory as Palestinian refugees. This brings us to contemporary politics. In 2011, President Abbas applied for Palestine to join the UN, and the following year it was granted non-member observer state status (which Switzerland also held until its people voted to join in 2002). The security council must agree to a country becoming a member before the application is sent to the UN general assembly; it can be vetoed by any of the permanent five members of the council (China, France, Russia, the UK and the United States). While the US remains primed to do just that, the Palestinian application is unlikely to proceed, despite the recent announcements by France, the UK and Canada. The three western powers have at least helped to resuscitate discussion around a two-state solution. There is urgency here: continued Israeli settlement of the West Bank means the window of possibility is closing. At some point the geography for two states will not work. That is why the more significant declaration this week was by the 22-member Arab League. EDUARDO MUNOZ/REUTERS For the first time it backed a declaration at the UN in New York that condemned Hamas for the massacres on October 7, 2023, as well as subsequent Israeli actions. It called on Hamas to hand its weapons to the Palestinian Authority and stand down, and, in another first, hinted at the normalisation of diplomatic relations with Israel. The text calls for 'tangible steps in promoting mutual recognition, peaceful coexistence, and co-operation among all states in the region'. This is significant because it is possible that the key to unlocking recognition of Palestine is full Arab recognition of Israel. However, pre-existing problems, and a new one, put a roadblock in front of this potential progress. • Why Israel can't brush off France's recognition of a Palestinian state The new barrier was the US State Department's announcement of sanctions against the Palestinian Authority for 'continuing to support terrorism, including incitement and glorification of violence (especially in textbooks) and providing payments and benefits in support of terrorism to Palestinian terrorists and their families'. Washington knows the Palestinian Authority pays the families of suicide bombers stipends, an accusation it has levelled for years — so why issue sanctions, including visa bans, now? It is clearly to undermine the new international push for a two-state solution, including the Arab-led plan for Gaza's reconstruction, with policing undertaken by Egyptian-trained Palestinian Authority police. Less clear is if this indicates that President Trump will never allow a Palestinian state, or that he will, but wants to ensure only he can bring it about (and thus win a Nobel peace prize). Within two days, Trump went from 'having no view' on world leaders saying they would recognise Palestine to castigating Canada's prime minister, Mark Carney, for doing the same thing. A post on his Truth Social platform said: 'That will make it very hard for us to make a trade deal with them. Oh Canada!!!' Some of the pre-existing problems were contained in the New York declaration. It reiterated that the 5.9 million Palestinian refugees have the 'right of return' to the places in Israel they left in 1948. The UN categorises as refugees the descendants of Palestinians who fled. Israel asks why only Palestinians have this UN status and says there is no way it would ever allow almost six million Palestinians to enter its borders. We are back where we began — definitions. The most used criteria for statehood are in the 1933 Montevideo convention: a permanent population, a defined territory, an effective government, the capacity for external relations. Opposing sides argue about whether Palestinian refugees should be included in the definition of a permanent population, and what are the defined borders. Some will say the Palestinian Authority can be an effective government and others that it is a corrupt fossil with little authority over the West Bank, never mind Gaza, which was/is run by Hamas. Perhaps, though, these are technicalities that can be overcome by compromise. Ah yes — compromise. For almost 80 years, since the United Nations became involved, the failure to compromise on rights, territorial inheritance, geography and competing historical narratives has often led to 'provisional' agreements on the intertwined futures of Israel and the Palestinian territories. But as the adage goes, sometimes nothing is so permanent as the provisional.
