Ilan Goldenberg: Recognition of the State of Palestine is the only appropriate response to the annexation

Ilan Goldenberg: Recognition of the State of Palestine is the only appropriate response to the annexation

 Ilan Goldenberg, director of the Middle East Security Program at the New American Security Center, wrote an article published by The Washington Post on Monday, titled "Recognition of the State of Palestine is the only appropriate response to the Israeli annexation." He started by saying that the Israeli government might start taking steps towards unilaterally annexing parts of the West Bank, which would pose a serious threat to any possibility of achieving a future two-state outcome that would allow Israelis and Palestinians to live in freedom and security in two independent states. It would also destroy the model that had governed the settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for decades. The Israeli annexation will herald a new era of unilateralism, the results of which will be a policy shift on the Palestinian side of the equation as well.

The writer notes that if the annexation occurs and the Donald Trump administration recognizes it, the two-state solution will stand on the brink of an abyss. "In such a world, it will be important to take steps to promote its renewal and create a new set of facts on the ground that create an enabling environment for a two-state solution. The response will be The most effective and significant by the American supporters of the two-state solution - especially in Congress - is the call for formal recognition of the state of Palestine, as annexation will be an unambiguous sign of the Israelis turning away from the two-state solution, but the Palestinians also no longer believe that their state dream is achievable. Surveys in the Palestinian territories already show that support for the two states is at its lowest level since the Israelis and Palestinians began negotiating in 1993 with the signing of the Oslo Accords.

The opposition adds: "The opposition is not based on the content of any agreement, but on the lack of belief that it is possible in the face of more than 25 years of failure and the growth of Israeli settlements on land supposed to be designated for a Palestinian state. And it will be the unilateral Israeli annexation, designed to demonstrate to the Palestinians that Israel will not It will be held hostage to the conditions of the Palestinians regarding its borders and lands, a greater impact that would accelerate the deterioration of Palestinian institutions towards more imbalance and tyranny, as they will be increasingly viewed by the Palestinians as tools of the Israeli occupation, not to prepare for the independent state. In the end, this lack of legitimacy To the collapse of the Palestinian Authority. "

The author concludes: "The recognition of a Palestinian state will represent a huge political impetus for Palestinian supporters of a two-state solution by providing a symbolic achievement of a long-awaited national aspiration. It will enhance the legitimacy of the Palestinian Authority and prevent its collapse. The American recognition must clarify that while the final borders of Israel and Palestine must be negotiated between the two parties It should be based on the 1967 borders with the agreed land swap, which will be in line with the past half-century of American policy. "

The author concludes by saying, "And American recognition almost certainly pushes most of the partners in Europe, who have so far refrained from recognizing a Palestinian state, to do so. But, even if the US administration chooses not to recognize Palestine, the mere reference to European countries is that the United States You will not oppose it in taking this step that could lead to a wave of international recognition that would strengthen the Palestinians in a moment of despair. "