US says Palestinian state should come via talks, not unilateral recognition
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden believes a Palestinian state should be achieved through negotiations, not unilateral recognition, the White House said on Wednesday (May 22) after Ireland, Spain and Norway said they would recognise a Palestinian state this month.
Washington's reaction appeared to signal US dismay that the three European nations announced an intent to proceed with unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, which does not exist in practice.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told a regular news briefing each country could make its own decision on recognition of a Palestinian state, but that Biden thinks direct negotiations by the parties is the best approach.
"President Biden believes that a two-state solution that guarantees Israel's security and also a future of dignity and security for the Palestinian people is the best way to bring about long-term security and stability for everyone in the region," Sullivan said.
"President Biden ... has been equally emphatic on the record that that two-state solution should be brought about through direct negotiations through the parties, not for unilateral recognition."
Sullivan had been asked if the United States was concerned that other nations might follow suit in recognising a Palestinian state. He said the US would communicate its consistent position to partners "see what unfolds".
Dr Simon Frankel Pratt, lecturer in political science at the University of Melbourne, told CNA's Asia First that he thinks other European countries will follow suit in recognising a Palestinian state. Some possibilities he cited were France, as well as Germany in the longer run.
"I think that this will steadily increase the diplomatic pressure on Israel," Dr Pratt added.
"And while Israel may have some of the ambassadors of these countries to register complaints, I don't think they actually have the diplomatic levers to prevent other states from doing the same."
He noted that Israel has had a long history of close and friendly relations with Ireland, Spain and Norway.
"This maybe reflects a growing dissatisfaction amongst even Israel's friends and partners with the stagnated state of the peace process," Dr Pratt said.
WAR IN GAZA
Decades of US efforts have failed to achieve a "two-state solution" with Israel living alongside a Palestinian state encompassing the West Bank, ruled by the Palestinian Authority (PA), and Gaza, ruled by the Hamas Islamist movement since it seized the coastal strip from the PA in a brief 2007 civil war.
Israel began an offensive in Gaza after Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel on Oct 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
More than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since then, health officials in the Hamas-run enclave say.
Israel is now attacking Rafah in southern Gaza, saying it wants to root out Hamas militants. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled Rafah since the start of the assault, and the main access routes for aid into Gaza have been blocked.
Sullivan said he was briefed on Israeli plans to minimise civilian harm in Rafah during a weekend visit to the region, and Washington will track whether the assault causes widespread death and destruction or is more precise and proportional.
"We now have to see what unfolds from here," he said.
He said aid was flowing in from a pier in Gaza, and that it was wrong for Israel to withhold funds from the West Bank.
The Biden administration also hopes to broker an arrangement leading Saudi Arabia and Israel to normalise relations. As part of that process, Saudi Arabia has demanded the Gaza conflict end and a path to a Palestinian state, something Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be likely to find hard to accept.
Dr Pratt from the University of Melbourne noted that the normalisation deal likely involves a condition of returning to peace negotiations.
He added that while he does not think Israelis on a whole are ready to begin or receive a peace process, there will be mounting pressure on Israel regionally and globally to resume negotiations.
"I know that when Israelis eventually vote for (their) government, and I suspect it will be a very different government than the current one, they will have those opportunities to recommit to the peace process," Dr Pratt said.
"I'm not sure whether there'll be much political will, and I'm not sure whether those who make up necessarily government will have credibility, but I think that the opportunities will be there.
"The risks of not doing it will continue to increase. Again, Israel will find itself increasingly isolated, even amongst its friends or former close allies."
