Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has ordered a review of the prospect of US and international recognition of the Palestinian state following the end of Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The review, reported Wednesday by Axios, aims to lay out several options for the Biden administration — including allowing the United Nations to recognize “Palestine” as a full member state and encouraging other countries to recognize a Palestinian state.
Separately, Blinken has reportedly called for a review of the model for a possible demilitarized Palestinian state based on other countries around the world — such as Grenada following the US invasion in 1983
The analysis marks a rethinking of US policy as official Washington grapples with the fallout from the October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel, which killed some 1,200 people and led to the capture of some 200 hostages – more than half of whom are still being held in Gaza.
The State Department study also appears to be a response to Saudi Arabian officials, who Axios reports have publicly and privately insisted on an “irrevocable” path to a Palestinian state as a condition for potential normalization of relations with Israel.
Blinken has ordered a review of the prospect of US and international recognition of the Palestinian state following the end of Israel’s war against Hamas. Reuters
US policy has long opposed recognition of a Palestinian state unless and until it is achieved through direct negotiations between the Jewish state and the Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank, but lost power in Gaza in 2007.
However, Axios reports that some Biden administration officials are considering making the recognition of a Palestinian state the first step in the negotiations rather than the final achievement.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on January 9. POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Top Israeli officials, such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have downplayed the prospect of a Palestinian state since the Oct. 7 attack.
“[Israel] must have security control over the entire region west of the Jordan River,” Netanyahu said during a Jan. 18 news conference, warning that a Palestinian state would be a launching pad for future attacks.
“I told our American friends, and I put the brakes on the attempt to force us to a reality that would harm the state of Israel,” he added.
Nearly 30,000 people are estimated to have been killed on both sides of the conflict. AFP via Getty Images Nearly 30,000 people are estimated to have been killed on both sides of the conflict. YAHYA ARHAB/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
In other statements, Netanyahu has publicly laid out his “three pillars” for peace in the region: the destruction of Hamas, the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, and the deradicalization of Palestinian society – similar to Germany and Japan after World War II
Critics were surprised by the implications of the review.
“The notion of rewarding corruption and systemic failure, let alone the financing of terrorism, drives me crazy,” Jonathan Schanzervice president of research at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy, writes in X.
National Review senior writer Noah Rothman called the State Department “completely detached from regional reality” and wrote that the concept of a state called “Palestine” is a “fiction.”
“It’s especially telling that the State Department is showing so much frustration with the uncooperative world,” Rothman said, “that it seems inclined to impose statehood on the Palestinian territories in the absence of a credible Palestinian negotiating partner.”
When asked for comment, the State Department referred The Post to a press briefing on Wednesday.
“There is no policy change in the administration. We have made it clear publicly that we support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. That has been the policy of the United States for a long time,” spokesman Mathew Miller told reporters at the newspaper.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
