Blinken: Palestinian state recognition 'a rebuke to Hamas,' but hostages, ending war take priority
Former US secretary of state Antony Blinken has said that the recognition of a Palestinian state is a rebuke to Hamas rather than a reward, but must come secondary to the matters of returning the hostages, preventing famine in Gaza, and ending the war, he wrote in a recent op-ed in The Wall Street Journal.
'Israel long ago achieved two of its three stated objectives in Gaza,' Blinken wrote in WSJ, referring to Israel's goals of destroying Hamas' military capabilities and killing those responsible for the October 7 massacre.
Israel's goal to return the remaining hostages, he said, will not be accomplished by following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to occupy Gaza, with Netanyahu's plan simply lengthening the conflict and amplifying anguish on both sides.
Blinken noted that key Arab states are willing to help Palestinians govern and rebuild Gaza while preventing Hamas from reemerging into power, but will 'only [do so] if there's a credible political path toward Palestinian self-determination.'
Conditions of recognizing a Palestinian state
Recognition of a Palestinian state is necessary, and not only if Israel wishes to resume normalization with Saudi Arabia. But, Blinken pointed out, recognition must be based on predetermined conditions.
'No one,' Blinken said, 'should expect Israel to accept a Palestinian state that is led by Hamas or other terrorists, that is militarized or has independent armed militias, that aligns with Iran or others that reject Israel's right to exist, that educates and preaches hatred of Jews or Israel.'
He suggested a timeline of three years and deemed the United Nations Security Council as the most suitable candidate to judge whether or not Palestinians uphold the aforementioned conditions. 'America's veto would reassure Israelis,' he noted.
Meanwhile, he pushed, Israel must address the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and implement a withdrawal plan. Israel must also stop allowing settlements to expand in the West Bank, demolishing Palestinian homes there and in east Jerusalem, and hold extremist violence on all sides accountable. Israel would also need to 'support the reform of the Palestinian Authority instead of trying to undermine it.'
Until then, he stated, Israel cannot maintain the idea that Palestinians will tolerate being a 'non-people without national rights.' As well, Palestinians must understand that ideas of a state 'from the river to the sea' are unfeasible.
'No one is going anywhere, whatever the delusions of extremists on both sides.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
12 minutes ago
- New York Post
Israeli spy chief visiting Qatar to revive Gaza peace talks, officials say
The head of Israel's Mossad spy agency visited Qatar on Thursday to revive the cease-fire and hostage exchange talks with Hamas, officials said. David Barnea met with Qatari Prime Minister Abdulrahman al-Thani in hopes of restarting the peace talks, which were left frozen after Israel and the US exited Doha and accused Hamas of not negotiating in good faith, two officials with the Jewish state told Reuters. Barnea's trip comes as Hamas reportedly sent its own negotiation team to Cairo to try and revive the peace talks, with the terror group claiming it was open to ceding its power in Gaza, but not its weapons. Advertisement 4 David Barnea met with Qatari Prime Minister Abdulrahman al-Thani in hopes of restarting the peace talks, according to reports. AFP via Getty Images Hopes for a diplomatic end to the war, which has raged on for more than 21 months, were seemingly dashed last month after the US and Israel pulled out of the negotiating table, claiming Hamas showed 'a lack of desire to reach a cease-fire in Gaza.' The tension at the negotiating table stemmed from Hamas' refusal to give up its hold over the Gaza Strip and demilitarize, with Israel also rejecting any deal that would establish the groundwork for a full military withdrawal and permanent peace. Advertisement With the talks dead in the water, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans last week for a full military takeover of Gaza City, with the aim of pressuring the terror group to come back to the negotiating table. Hamas officials did just that on Thursday, with one official telling Reuters that the terrorist group was ready to relinquish governance on Gaza to a non-partisan committee. 4 Mossad Director David Barnea greets relatives of Israeli soldier Zvi Feldman, one of three Israeli soldiers who went missing during the 1982 battle of Sultan Yacoub, during his funeral in Holon military cemetery near Tel Aviv, Israel, on May 12, 2025. Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images Hamas, which bills itself as a resistance group, however, said it would not demilitarize until a Palestinian state is formally established. Advertisement Netanyahu has long rejected the idea of a Palestinian state, claiming that recognizing one would only reward Hamas and the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack, where the militants killed more than 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others. 4 Hopes for a diplomatic end to the war were seemingly dashed last month after the US and Israel pulled out of the negotiating table, claiming Hamas showed 'a lack of desire to reach a cease-fire in Gaza,' according to reports. AFP via Getty Images 4 Smoke rises following an Israeli strike, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, August 14, 2025. REUTERS Netanyahu has also indicated that the current cease-fire efforts are now all focused on securing a single, comprehensive deal to release all the remaining 50 hostages at once. Advertisement During his talks with Al-Thani, Barnea reinforced the idea that any 'partial deal is off the table,' a senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel. With Post wires
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Israel announces a settlement that critics say will effectively sever the West Bank in two
MAALE ADUMIM, West Bank (AP) — Israel's far-right finance minister announced approval Thursday of contentious new settlement construction in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which Palestinians and rights groups worry will scuttle plans for a Palestinian state by effectively cutting the territory into two parts. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich boasted that the construction, which is expected to receive final approval later this month, could thwart Palestinian statehood plans. It came as many countries, including Australia, Britain, France, and Canada say they will recognize a Palestinian state in September. The construction on a tract of land east of Jerusalem named E1 has been has been under consideration for more than two decades, and is especially controversial because it is one of the last geographic links between the major West Bank cities of Ramallah and Bethlehem. The two cities are 22 kilometers (14 miles) apart by air. But once an Israeli settlement is completed, it would require Palestinians traveling between cities to drive several kilometers (miles) out of their way and pass through multiple checkpoints. 'This reality finally buries the idea of a Palestinian state, because there is nothing to recognize and no one to recognize,' Smotrich said during a ceremony on Thursday. 'Anyone in the world who tries today to recognize a Palestinian state — will receive an answer from us on the ground,' he said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not publicly comment on the plan on Thursday, but he has touted it in the past. Development in E1 was frozen for so long largely due to U.S. pressure during previous administrations. On Thursday, Smotrich praised President Donald Trump and U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee as 'true friends of Israel as we have never had before.' The E1 plan is expected to receive final approval Aug. 20, capping off 20 years of bureaucratic wrangling. The planning committee on Aug. 6 rejected all of the petitions to stop the construction filed by rights groups and activists. While some bureaucratic steps remain, if the process moves quickly, infrastructure work could begin in the next few months and construction of homes could start in around a year. The approval is a 'colonial, expansionist, and racist move,' Ahmed al Deek, the political adviser to the minister of Palestinian Foreign Affairs, told The Associated Press on Thursday. 'It falls within the framework of the extremist Israeli government's plans to undermine any possibility of establishing a Palestinian state on the ground, to fragment the West Bank, and to separate its southern part from the center and the north,' al Deek said. Rights groups also swiftly condemned the plan. Peace Now called it 'deadly for the future of Israel and for any chance of achieving a peaceful two-state solution' which is 'guaranteeing many more years of bloodshed.' The announcement comes as the Palestinian Authority and Arab countries condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement in an interview on Tuesday that he was 'very' attached to the vision of a Greater Israel. He did not elaborate, but supporters of the idea believe that Israel should control not only the occupied West Bank but parts of Arab countries. Israel's plans to expand settlements are part of an increasingly difficult reality for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank as the world's attention focuses on Gaza. There have been marked increases in settler attacks against Palestinians, evictions from Palestinian towns and checkpoints that choke freedom of movement. There also have been several Palestinian attacks on Israelis during the course of the war. More than 700,000 Israelis now live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in 1967 and sought by the Palestinians for a future state. The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlement construction in these areas to be illegal and obstacles to peace. Israel's government is dominated by religious and ultranationalist politicians with close ties to the settlement movement. Finance Minister Smotrich, previously a firebrand settler leader, has been granted cabinet-level authority over settlement policies and vowed to double the settler population in the West Bank. Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians claim all three territories for a future independent state. Israel has annexed east Jerusalem and claims it as part of its capital, which is not internationally recognized. It says the West Bank is disputed territory whose fate should be determined through negotiations, while Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005. Solve the daily Crossword
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
More Relief Supplies Enter Gaza, but Aid Groups Warn of Bottlenecks
The Israeli authorities have asserted that more aid trucks are entering the Gaza Strip, but humanitarian groups warn that bottlenecks are preventing relief supplies from reaching the most vulnerable people in the war-ridden territory. Cogat, the Israeli security agency responsible for coordinating aid deliveries into Gaza, has said roughly 300 trucks of relief supplies and commercial goods have entered Gaza daily in recent days. And the price of some food items in markets has fallen significantly. But United Nations officials said many trucks were still being intercepted by desperate people and gunmen before reaching their destination. Other obstacles, they said, are the limited routes into Gaza and long waits at Israeli checkpoints. 'There has been a slight improvement, but it hasn't been sufficient to change the overall outcome,' said Olga Cherevko, a Gaza-based spokeswoman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. In recent weeks, Israel has been pressured by allies to address growing hunger in Gaza after months of restrictions on the entry of aid. The Israeli government has responded by saying it would allow more trucks into the territory. Last week, an Israeli security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity under military rules, said Israel was willing to facilitate the entry of 500 trucks per day and was trying to open more routes to let the United Nations and international organizations deliver relief. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
