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A Palestinian State for Hamas

(Wall Street Journal) Editorial - This week, France, the UK, Australia, Canada and some others recognized a Palestinian state as punishment for Israel. They hardly even pretend that Palestine meets the criteria for statehood. Instead they use recognition as a political statement against the Israeli war effort. "Why are all these countries recognizing Palestine now?" Hamas Politburo member Ghazi Hamad asked on Al Jazeera. "The fruits of Oct. 7" - the 2023 massacre that he vows to repeat - "are what caused the world to open its eyes to the Palestinian cause." Slaughter Jews, hold hostages long enough, use enough Gazans as human shields, and you get your own state. Hamas opposes a two-state solution because that solution requires Palestinians to make peace with Israel. But these recognitions disconnect statehood from any peace agreement, granting recognition even without reconciliation. They give Hamas what it wants. Why not demand that steps toward peace come first? Why not condition recognition on the release of all hostages and exile of Hamas? These recognition moves bring a Palestinian state no closer. On Oct. 7, 2023, Israelis saw one vision of Palestinian nationalism in action. They also saw Hamas gain support among Palestinians afterward, and Israel condemned for fighting back. Israelis will now need to see something different from Palestinians to be convinced that murdering Jews isn't their nationalism's essence. Why should Israelis believe a West Bank state wouldn't soon look like Gaza and prepare another Oct. 7-style attack? And that the world wouldn't blame Israel in the aftermath? The Palestinians have consistently chosen the struggle to destroy Israel rather than the offer of a state alongside it. To say, let them have both is to make Hamas's day.
2025-09-25 00:00:00
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