Now is the time to recognize Palestine

Arab News

2 days ago

https://arab.news/5xcnd
Israel's blocking of an Arab delegation, preventing it from entering the West Bank at the weekend, is yet another reminder of the ugly, immoral nature of its ongoing occupation of Palestinian lands.
The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the UAE planned to take part in a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Sunday. But the Israeli government stepped in late on Friday and announced that it would not allow the delegation to cross from Jordan to the West Bank. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said this move showed the Tel Aviv government's 'extremism and rejection of peace.'
Of course, there is no shortage of reminders of the ugliness of the occupation, especially given the unfolding genocide in Gaza.
Since Israel unilaterally broke the ceasefire in the Strip in March, hospitals have again been in its sights. After Al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia was evacuated on Israeli orders last Thursday, there were no functioning health facilities in the north of Gaza. And let us not forget that, last month, Israeli troops fired 'warning shots' in the vicinity of a European diplomatic delegation visiting the West Bank.
More and more, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition of right-wing lunatics are increasing Israel's isolation and making it impossible for even its closest allies in the West to tolerate its actions.
It is telling that a former Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, last week said that Israel was committing war crimes in Gaza. 'The government of Israel is currently waging a war without purpose, without goals or clear planning and with no chances of success,' he wrote in an opinion piece for Haaretz.
Better late than never, and, no, implementing it will not be easy, but this is a start.
Faisal J. Abbas
Last week, we even saw Germany begin to criticize Israel, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemning its 'violations' of international law. 'To harm the civilian population to such an extent, as has increasingly been the case in recent days, can no longer be justified as a fight against Hamas terrorism,' he said.
Merz's intervention followed a very powerful speech from British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who told Parliament that the rhetoric coming from the likes of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich 'is extremism. It is dangerous. It is repellent. It is monstrous.'
Indeed, when National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Smotrich speak of Israeli forces 'cleansing' Gaza, 'destroying what's left' and Palestinians 'being relocated to third countries,' then 'extremist' is the least they can be called. Personally, I believe they are war criminals.
It is also very telling that Israel's ambassador to the UK was able to phenomenally identify exactly how many Hamas 'terrorists' have been killed during the war on Gaza that ignited following the horrific events of Oct. 7. But she could not recall, or even acknowledge, the number of children killed (the answer is more than 15,000, according to UNICEF) — despite being asked the same question 17 times during an interview with Piers Morgan.
A reminder here that Morgan was unfairly accused, at the beginning of the war, of being biased toward Israel despite him giving both sides an equal platform. His latest interview with the Israeli ambassador was a masterclass in how to conduct professional interviews and ask serious questions.
⁠However, the battle for Palestinian justice will not be won by column inches or on podcasts. The two-state solution summit is coming up on June 17-20, jointly hosted by Saudi Arabia and France at the UN headquarters in New York, and nations worldwide will find themselves facing the ultimate moral test. Needless to say, now is the time to recognize Palestine and support a two-state solution. To skeptics, I say two things: better late than never, and, no, implementing it will not be easy, but this is a start.
• Faisal J. Abbas is the Editor-in-Chief of Arab News.
X: @FaisalJAbbas