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Source: https://x.com/SpencerGuard/status/1949482829068354036
October 7 Cannot Become Palestinian Independence Day
(X) Michal Cotler-Wunsh and Maj. (ret.) John Spencer - Under the 1933 Montevideo Convention, recognition of statehood is a legal status that requires a permanent population, defined territory, a functioning government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other states. There are no agreed-upon borders. The often-cited pre-1967 lines have been rejected by Palestinian leaders in multiple rounds of negotiations. Hamas claims all of Israel as Palestinian territory. There is no unified government. The Palestinian Authority controls parts of Judea and Samaria through a decaying, unelected administration. Hamas governs Gaza with violence and repression. The two factions operate separate legal systems and have not held national elections in nearly twenty years. Both factions institutionalize and glorify terrorism. The Palestinian Authority's "pay to slay" law rewards convicted terrorists and their families with salaries funded in part by foreign aid. No political entity that celebrates murder can meet the standards of statehood. Recognition now would reward massacre with legitimacy. It would signal to other actors that sovereignty can be claimed through atrocity, that hostage-taking is an acceptable bargaining tactic, and that genocide is negotiable if framed in political terms. Oct. 7 would become a roadmap, not a red line. Sovereignty requires more than grievance. It requires a commitment to reject violence and live in peace with neighbors. Recognizing a Palestinian state now would destroy any incentive for reform. It would entrench division, glorify terror, and sideline those seeking genuine coexistence. This is not a diplomatic breakthrough. It is appeasement. And appeasement in the face of evil is how democracies fall. Michal Cotler-Wunsh, a former Israeli Knesset member, is Israel's special envoy for combatting antisemitism. John Spencer is chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point.