While there is still a state to recognise

Palestinians walk through the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Rafah, southern Gaza, early in 2025

Israel appears poised to escalate policies that could irrevocably undermine the prospects for an independent Palestinian state – making robust international pressure more critical than ever. In recent weeks, some of Israel’s closest allies have signaled unprecedented steps to push for a policy change: Britain, France, and Canada have all moved toward formally recognising a Palestinian state as leverage against Israel’s actions, amid growing outrage over Gaza’s humanitarian. The US, while “complaining” about the humanitarian situation has condemn these moves.

So rather than heeding these signals, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government appears to be doubling down on territorial consolidation. The Israeli war cabinet is reportedly poised to approve a full reoccupation of the Gaza Strip, and the coalition has revived the contentious E1 settlement plan in the West Bank – a move so detrimental to any two-state solution that France insists it “must not be implemented”. These moves occur amid a catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where UN agencies warn famine is unfolding despite there being sufficient food in the region to feed Gaza for three months. This coincides with a crackdown on humanitarian organizations through new regulations that threaten to de-register most international NGOs operating in the occupied territories.

Recognition must be only the beginning of a broader process – a first step in raising the political and economic cost to Israel for persisting in the breach of international law, until its changes course.

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