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RECOGNITION OF PALESTINE IS NOT ENOUGH  
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Aida Touma-Suleiman
September 21, 2025
Jacobin
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_ Israeli Knesset member Aida Touma-Suleiman argues that in order for
the growing recognition of the state of Palestine to be meaningful, it
must be accompanied by sanctions for Israel’s permanent illegal
occupation. _

Recognition of a Palestinian state may offer Western governments a
way to absolve themselves in the face of mounting public pressure from
Palestine solidarity movements. It’s not enough., Photo: Angela
Weiss / Agence France-Presse (AFP) // Jacobin

 

In recent months, as the genocidal killing of Gazans continues, an
increasing number of countries have announced their intention to
recognize a Palestinian state, joining the 147 that already have. Most
of these come from among Israel’s Western allies, with the
formalization of recognition due to take place at a United Nations
(UN) summit to revive the two-state solution, cochaired by Saudi
Arabia and France. As part of this effort, the UN General Assembly
endorsed this initiative, in a resounding show of support with a
supermajority of 142 countries in favor and only ten opposed. (Even
one of Israel’s strongest allies, Germany, voted in favor of this
initiative, although it said it would not recognize a Palestinian
state at this stage.) The initiative could provide strong leverage for
the basic demands of the Palestinian people to live free of Israeli
occupation in their own independent state.

This recognition would have been a momentous occasion had it not come
amid a war of annihilation waged against Gaza, and in tandem with a
military-settler offensive against the Palestinian people in occupied
East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Right now, the most urgent demand is
to mount as much international pressure as possible to immediately
stop the assault on Gaza, save its remaining residents from killing or
ethnic cleansing, and prevent the permanent reoccupation of the entire
territory for years to come.

Two Tracks

The world is moving on two parallel tracks: on one side, a wave of
popular solidarity with the Palestinian cause and against the
genocide, including increased discussion of real sanctions against
Israel. On the other side, Israel’s unprecedented brutality against
the Palestinian people, supported unconditionally by the United
States.

The most recent example entailed a US violation of the terms of
conditions for hosting the UN in its own country, when Secretary of
State Marco Rubio’s announced a visa ban of eighty Palestinian
Authority officials, including President Mahmoud Abbas, ahead of the
UN conference.

The very countries now declaring their intention to recognize
Palestine in the coming days have been, and continue to be, enablers
of the genocide against the same people whose right to
self-determination they are belatedly acknowledging.

One of the problems with these two tracks is that they move at
different paces: the translation of public pressure into actual
policies that could curb Israel’s ability to wreak havoc has moved
far slower than the terrifying pace of Israel’s war crimes.
Israel’s Western allies seem to be caught between these two tracks,
which has resulted in a schizophrenic policy toward Palestinians. The
very countries now declaring their intention to recognize Palestine in
the coming days have been, and continue to be, enablers of the
genocide against the same people whose right to self-determination
they are belatedly acknowledging.

Some countries have continued to profit through continued trade,
whereas others have taken a more direct and active role in abetting
Israel’s crimes in Gaza: from UK aircraft carrying out
reconnaissance flights over Gaza to gather intelligence for Israel’s
war machine, to German tank engines that have also been used to
flatten the cities of Rafah and Khan Yunis.

These details help place the forthcoming recognition of Palestine into
context. Anyone who believes this marks the peak of diplomatic efforts
is mistaken. Recognition is not the end of the road but its beginning.
It must be accompanied by concrete actions that guarantee the survival
of the Palestinian people as well as their right to
self-determination.

A Diversion?

Recognition of a Palestinian state may offer Western governments a way
to absolve themselves in the face of mounting public pressure from
Palestine solidarity movements. Polls, protests, and mountains of
anecdotal evidence suggest that the public is disgusted by what Israel
is doing to the Palestinians, and by the indifference and complicity
of their own governments and very often of their own media. They are
mobilized to pressure their governments, and it is to them we look to
ensure that recognition, while important, does not replace the urgent
need to end the war, prevent ethnic cleansing, and stop settler
violence in the West Bank.

Without immediate interventions, the creeping process of annexation
will proceed unchecked, and the already slim prospect of establishing
a Palestinian state will further fade. Recognition of Palestine must
be a platform to turn the tide on the two-state solution rather than
serving as an atonement certificate for states complicit in its very
death.

Recognition of Palestine must be a platform to turn the tide on the
two-state solution rather than serving as an atonement certificate for
states complicit in its very death.

Palestinians have a legitimate fear that those states that are
recognizing their right to self-determination will end up not only
making of it a symbolic gesture, but that this gesture will be
accompanied by greater demands on the Palestinians under occupation
than on their Israeli occupier — that recognition will become yet
another cudgel with which to undermine Palestinian rights and
well-being rather than challenge Israeli criminality.

This is not a baseless fear: in statements made by Western leaders
when announcing recognition, several conditions were attached (some in
the UN Resolution itself), including limiting participation in
Palestinian elections to those factions endorsing the Palestine
Liberation Organization (PLO) platform and for Palestinians to agree
that their state would be demilitarized, when Palestinians are unable
to defend themselves against genocide.

Palestinians must get their political house in order, but such demands
cannot be a distraction while Palestinians are enduring extermination,
ethnic cleansing, and settlement expansion.

Recognition Is an Important First Step

In spite of these concerns, recognition of Palestine must be supported
— it is something that my party, Hadash, has long called for. It is
one way of consolidating a global consensus against the
Israeli-American “Greater Israel” project and in favor of
Palestinian self-determination, and is a necessary political task in
these terrible times.

But to be meaningful, recognition must be accompanied by sanctions for
the permanent illegal occupation of the state that is being
recognized. The International Court of Justice, in its opinion last
year, set out the illegality of the occupation itself and some of the
measures states must take to not be complicit, ranging from
restrictions in trade to military cooperation.

To be meaningful, recognition must be accompanied by sanctions for the
permanent illegal occupation of the state that is being recognized.

States such as Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia have already moved to
position themselves in compliance with international law. And there is
a sense that these states are only the first: even Germany has
recently announced an apparent weapons embargo, which would be
significant if properly implemented. The European Union as a whole,
however, continues to fail Palestinians in its inability to pass an
arms embargo.

The reason this is so important is not to reaffirm a unipolar order in
its twilight, but because the West remains Israel’s hinterland:
where Israel conducts the majority of its trade, parks many of its
financial assets in Western banks, participates in international
sports, and travels to frequently and visa-free. The West also claims
to adhere to a rules-based and values-based system, and it is
therefore the West that will determine how quickly the gap is closed
between the two tracks of the destruction of Palestinians and holding
Israel accountable.

Solidarity in the streets must translate into action in the halls of
power, even if this is happening too late for so many Palestinians.
Recognition is an important step, but it too must be translated into
action.

_[AIDA TOUMA-SULEIMAN has been a member of Israel’s Knesset for the
Hadash party since 2015.]_

_Jacobin‘s fall issue, “Borders,” is out now. Follow this link
to get a discounted subscription to our beautiful print quarterly.
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* Palestine
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* Gaza
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* Israel
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* Ceasefire
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* Israel-Gaza War
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* West Bank
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* Israeli settlements
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* Occupied Territories
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* U.S.-Israel relations
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* Donald Trump
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* Benjamin Netanyahu
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* Europe
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* Palestinian State
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* Sanctions
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* United Nations
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* international law
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* international relations
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* Israel-Palestine
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* Hadash
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* Hadash-Ta'al
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