Recently, France issued a threat to unilaterally recognize “Palestine” as a state at a gathering it is coordinating with the Saudis later this month. This threat came because France objects to Israeli actions in its war against Hamas. In addition to being morally wrong and based on a false narrative, this approach will certainly not lead to peace in the region. Overall, declaring a Palestinian state in Israeli territory is a foolhardy way to conduct diplomacy and foreign policy. Recognition of such a state should not be based on threats. If that’s the foundation of the case to recognize a “State of Palestine,” it is illegitimate and corrosive at its core.
The U.S. was right to “firmly reject(ing) any attempt to recognize a Palestinian state unilaterally,” and as U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee noted, if France wants a Palestinian state, they can establish that in France.
Unilaterally recognizing “Palestine,” the US noted, is a “reward for Hamas’ shocking attack on Israel” on October 7, 2023. “The United States stands with Israel in unequivocally rejecting any effort to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state or impose conditions on Israel,” John Kelley, the Acting U.S. Alternate Representative to the UN said last week at a UN Security Council Briefing on the Situation in the Middle East.
France’s case is the diplomatic equivalent of skating on thin ice, minus the ice. President Macron went on national TV to declare, “We need to move towards recognition (of a Palestinian state) and so over the next few months we will. I’m not doing it to please anyone. I’ll do it because at some point it will be right. And because I also want to take part in a collective dynamic that should also enable those who defend ‘Palestine’ to recognize Israel in their turn.”
Macron’s rationale has promoted himself from President to prophet, envisioning that at some point it will be legitimate to recognize “Palestine” as a state, so why not be the first? A similar rationale could have been made to France’s surrender to Germany. It could be argued that at some point, Germany was going to overrun the continent, so why not be on the ground floor of appeasement and surrender?
There are many questions and reasons why this is problematic, but let’s understand first and foremost what “Palestine” is he even talking about? Does Macron intend to recognize only Hamas-controlled Gaza, Gaza and the “West Bank”/Judea and Samaria, Palestine “from the river to the sea” (as is popularly chanted in unbridled anti-Israel protests around the world), or all of British Mandatory Palestine which also includes today’s Jordan made up of 70 percent “Palestinians?”
Historically, it’s essential to note that there never was a state or independent entity called Palestine. When people speak of “Palestine” today being “occupied,” the implication is that there once was such a state that is now not controlled by the people of that state. But such an entity never existed. It’s a fabricated historical fiction. Even after the 1948 War of Independence, Jordan and Egypt respectively occupied the “West Bank” and Gaza, subjugating the “Palestinians” and never even entertaining a discussion about Palestinian independence.
There never was a State of Palestine, not before 1948 or 1967. There was never a King, President, Emir, or Prime Minister of Palestine. Many other essential foundations of statehood also never existed and still do not exist, despite France’s threat.
Who Are the Palestinians
Who are today’s “Palestinians” is a foundational question as it relates to a Palestinian state. The Arabs in Palestine before 1948 were a mix of indigenous Arabs and Bedouin clans, along with Arabs who migrated to the Land of Israel due to the prosperity resulting from Jewish return and restoration of the Land. They did not believe in the fulfillment of prophecy. Economic immigrants, their names still identify them as descendants of Egyptians and Syrians who migrated and stayed. While they refer to themselves today as “Palestinians,” they are not a single ethnic group. A Soviet KGB propaganda lab fabricated the title in conjunction with the terrorist Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO.
There has always been a Jewish presence in the Holy Land, even after the exile in 70 CE. Before the Jewish people started returning to the Land of Israel en masse in the late 19th century, the Land was empty and barren. Among those most famously documenting this, Mark Twain wrote that it was “A desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds… a silent mournful expanse…. a desolation…. we never saw a human being on the whole route…. hardly a tree or shrub anywhere. Even the olive tree and the cactus, those fast friends of worthless soil, had almost deserted the country.”
Twain was accurate in his description, but mistaken in referring to it as a “country.” One hundred fifty years ago, “Palestine” was a province of the Ottoman Empire. Since then, the desolate and desert land has blossomed, benefiting both indigenous Arabs and Israelis.
Before 1948, the term “Palestinians” referred only to the Jews of the Land. Arabs living in the British Mandate rejected the term as it emphasized their subjugation to British colonialism. As a Jew, I’m a descendant of “Palestinians” who overnight became Israelis in May 1948. Ben Gurion invited the Arabs to remain as citizens, and those who did, became Arab Israelis. After Israel declared its independence, the term “Palestinian” hibernated until 1964. Three years before the Six Day War, the term was resurrected, transforming into a fictitious national identity.
In 1970, the PLO rose up against the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The British had installed a Saudi Arabian monarchy to rule over 80 percent of Mandatory Palestine. With a population that was 80 percent Palestinian, King Hussein unleashed a brutal slaughter to maintain his rule. Since then, the “Palestinians” have accepted that the foreign monarchy of Jordan is here to stay.
A State by Any Other Name
A state is imbued with certain symbols that demonstrate its sovereignty. The currency of pre-1948 Palestine had Hebrew, Arabic, and English, acknowledging that there were Arabs and Jews in the Land, and that it was British-controlled. Palestine was never an Arab state. All official documents and coins featured the Hebrew letters א״י standing for “Eretz Yisrael,” or Land of Israel. No Arab state of Palestine would have ever done that.
Today, the faux-state of Palestine still does not have its own currency. Instead, they use the Israeli shekel as their standard of value.
If there was never a state of Palestine before 1948, or ever, where did the name Palestine come from? The term “Palestine” was first invoked in the Second Century following the Roman conquest of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel and its subjugation by Rome. It was invented by the Romans a century after Jesus was crucified. Today, some Bibles have maps inaccurately titled “Palestine in the time of Jesus.” “Palestinians” routinely claim Jesus as “the first Palestinian.” But these are false and misleading. Born in the tribal lands of Judea, Jesus was a Jew and never heard the word Palestine.
Even the current flag of Palestine was created as a spin-off of the Jordanian flag and adopted by the PLO on May 28, 1964. Before that, there was a flag of Palestine with a Star of David on a blue and white background.
Today, threats of recognition of Palestine are being used in the same way, to subjugate Israel again, as a threat, as a theological and historical spit in the face.
In addition to not having a historical leader before Yasser Arafat or a defined currency, “Palestine” has no defined territory. As noted above, some claim that their goal is only an independent state in the “West Bank” (also known as Judea and Samaria). But even if France intends to recognize Judea and Samaria as a Palestinian state, there is no legal entity that has control over that territory. Indeed, several terrorist organizations (the PLO, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad) are competing for dominance.
Since the “Palestine” that La France seeks to recognize has no other trappings of a state, it would be born into civil war between Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the PLO, all vying for control.
A Disastrous Foreign Policy
Threats to recognize one state because of the actions of another, or a prophetic view that one day it will inevitably come to be, are not a foundation for a foreign policy. If there were, in fact, a Palestinian people and a legitimate claim to the existence of a Palestinian state, they would have done it years ago. But it isn’t, and they have not, and that’s the reality. If a state disagrees with the policy of another state, it has the right to express its disagreement. But when such a proposed policy flies in the face of truth and reality, and is widely suspected to be a way to appease the growing Arab and Islamic caliphate growing in France, it is not legitimate.
There are no expectations of the faux-state of “Palestine” to be a “democratic Palestinian state” as is demanded of Israel. This is one of the double standards that reeks both of antisemitism and anti-Arabism, by not expecting more or better from the Arabs.
Of course, not all states in the world that are recognized are democratic, but the proposed state of “Palestine” will be Judenrein: no Jews allowed. That’s not very democratic or liberal from Le Republique.
Adding all the foreign support from Arab and Islamic states, as well as the EU and UN, the faux-state of Palestine has one of the highest per capita levels of foreign support in the world, if not the largest. With all this funding, it has virtually no functioning industry, with as much as 30-40 percent of its GNP and jobs coming from Israel. In recognizing “Palestine”,o how much more money will be dumped into this kleptocracy, and how much meant for building an infrastructure for the well-being of the Palestinian Arabs will be siphoned off for indoctrination and terror?
While states can determine their own policies, recognizing “Palestine” is a tactic to punish Israel for its self-defense actions in Gaza and to pressure it to withdraw from the alleged “Palestinian territories.”
France, or any other country for that matter, recognizing Palestinian statehood, especially now, is a victory for Hamas and Islamic terrorism, rewarding and incentivizing further violence and massacres against Israel. Doing so unilaterally not only rewards terror, but it also does not require Faux-Palestine to recognize Israel, or to reject their goal of annihilating it. Lack of requiring that, doing so bolsters “Palestinian” rejection of Israel’s existence. Indeed, France recognizing “Palestine” will be interpreted as an international endorsement of its genocidal goal to destroy Israel.
Since the October 7 massacre, and amid a war to destroy Hamas which is recognized globally as a terrorist organization, and its influence, France’s position strengthens Hamas’ Influence both within Palestinian Arab politics against the (recognized) PLO leadership, and to inflict continued brutality and terror on the Palestinian Arabs.
Corrupt Foundations of an Aspiring State
In addition to the urgency to eliminate Hamas and its malignant influence among Palestinian Arabs, recognizing “Palestine” ignores “Palestinian” support for violence. No, not every “Palestinian” is a terrorist. Still, it must be made clear that three-quarters of “Palestinians” support the October 7 Hamas-led massacre, with a similar percentage as indicated in their opinion polls that they support Hamas and deny that the atrocities of October 7 ever took place. Indeed, if there were a democratic election among Palestinian Arabs today, Hamas would likely win, according to these polls.
In addition, the Palestinian Authority participates in incitement to terror, and funds and rewards terrorists through their “pay to slay” policy. There should be no recognition of any state whose core reason for existence is the destruction of another state, or while allowing that state to threaten the existence of another.
The level of per capita global funding for various Palestinian Arab terror entities and the Palestinian Authority itself also deepens its (and their) dependency on others, rather than investing in building a future for themselves. It strengthens their perception of victimhood and the refugee-martyr identity that goes along with it, perpetuating the demonization of Israel as an illegitimate state. Rather than supporting actual independence, support for a faux-Palestine that’s propped up by an entire UN agency (UNRWA), their self-identity as victims and refugees is perpetuated. This is not a foundation of any nationality that can ever be prosperous.
While he comes across as a statesman, leaders like Macron are more and more driven by antipathy toward an Israel that can defend itself, perhaps seeking an ongoing virtual sense of colonialism that the British and French so badly mishandled in the Middle East and from which they continue to suffer the consequences themselves. Macron and other such leaders’ positions may possibly be tinged with antisemitism, viewing Israel as too powerful, hegemonic, aggressive, and dominant. In that light, recognizing a Palestinian state can be seen as restraining and humbling Israel, forcing it to accept a genocidal state alongside it that would serve as a platform for continued war against Israel, and threaten Israel and Israeli lives.
Stupidity is not a Crime, but…
French recognition of a Palestinian state ignores and undermines not just Israeli perspectives, but history and truth. Rejection of, or at best failure to consider, why Israelis overwhelmingly oppose a Palestinian state especially since October 7, fuels the flames of the existential threats against Israel since its founding. It also fails to challenge the Palestinian narrative equating Israel and Zionism as fundamentally illegitimate, imperialist, colonialist, white supremacy, and guilty of genocide and apartheid.
Conversely, this presents “Palestinian” attacks on Israel (historically and on and since October 7, as legitimate resistance, based on their demands for humanitarian aid or a two-state solution, ignoring their overtly stated murderous intentions, and deep-rooted antisemitism.
This stupidity is also a vast display of anti-Arab (“Palestinian”) bigotry of embodying low (or no) expectations of “Palestinian” adherence to civil society. Accepting the existence of a state that not only tolerates but imbues and incites violence (“Days of Rage,” “Nakba Day” riots, missile barrages, terror in dozens of forms, etc.) reflects low expectations, excuses their lack of willingness for any real negotiation, democratic discourse, and or state-building. It legitimizes their “national” funding corruption and an unrealistic delusion of a “Palestinian right of return” to erase Israel.
Where Macron’s policies can be forgiven if just simply stupid, they are also imbalanced. He’s full of tough talk and threats against Israel, but lacking any parallel in recognizing such statehood without pressing “Palestinians” for hard compromise. Stupidity can be forgiven, but this is mischievous and malicious, unlike the “tough love” often reserved for Israel. For those who actually aspire to peace, this is destructive and undermines Israel’s rights to live in peace and security by making it clear to the “Palestinians” that they can literally get away with murder.
Don’t get me wrong. I recognize that there are millions of people today who identify as “Palestinian”, and I do not reject their doing so. In fact, I am far more “pro-Palestinian” than the vast majority of people who hijack American campuses, threaten people in public streets, and chant genocidal slogans that sound like lovely rhymes in a children’s book (“From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free,” and “There is only one solution, intifada revolution.”) yet who don’t even know what the slogans mean. I have proposed and been an ardent proponent for the true Solution for Peace in Gaza, and pray that when my grandchildren grow up and serve in the Israeli army that they will not confront jihadi peers who delegitimize our very existence as the people in the Land in which our history goes back thousands of years. I pray for a Biblical model of those who call themselves “Palestinians” as gentiles living peacefully, and in prosperity, alongside the Jewish people.
But I realize that the only way that this can ever happen is as former Prime Minister Golda Meir famously said, we can only have peace when they “love their children more than they hate our children.” The change needs to come from them, a radical change of heart that requires a complete rejection of the past 100 years of extremist Islamic intolerance that is the source of the war and hate.
And they need to realize that regardless of what they call themselves, this forged national identity that is only as old as I am, is based on a foundation of lies. That’s harsh. Their national identity is only a consequence of Israel’s national identity, and their history and legends (like George Washington and the cherry tree), are hollow if they exist at all. Let’s move forward, toward true peace, but to do so we have to base it on truth.
President Macron and others who propagate this “Palestinian” narrative, for whatever reason, and foolishly think that recognizing a Palestinian state is not only appropriate, but will somehow lead to peace, are fools themselves. Without a complete repudiation of all the lies and hate on which this national identity is rooted, there will not only not be peace, but there’s no formula today that the creation of a Palestinian state would do anything other than make peace further out of reach.
