Britain, Canada and Australia simultaneously announced that they recognize the State of Palestine, which aims to give new impetus to the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, BTA reports.
The step was welcomed by Palestine, but provoked a sharp reaction from Israel and criticism from the United States, Reuters reported.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said that such recognition was "nothing but an encouragement for the jihadist group Hamas". The department pointed out that the leaders of "Hamas" openly defined this act as "a direct result of the massacre of October 7". "No "Let jihadist ideology determine your foreign policy," the ministry added.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Warsen Aghabekian Shaheen, however, welcomed the decision, stressing that the recognition of the State of Palestine was a "practical, tangible and irreversible step." According to her, it would not end the war immediately, but it represented progress that must be built on. Shaheen accused Israel of refusing any negotiations after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently declared that "there will never be a Palestinian state" and launched a new Jewish settlement in the West Bank.
Israeli ministers, for their part, described the recognition as meaningless and with no real effect on the situation on the ground. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee also dismissed it as a "publicity stunt" and “counterproductive“.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian foreign minister insisted that political pressure on Israel should be combined with economic measures. She accused Israel of “genocide in Gaza“, a claim that Israel denies. Last week, however, a UN investigation commission, as well as international and Israeli human rights organizations, said they had concluded that Israel had committed genocide in the strip.
The recognition of the State of Palestine has already been supported by a number of countries, and more countries, including France and Saudi Arabia, are expected to take the same position during the UN General Assembly in New York next week.