Britain and France’s recognition of a state of Palestine at the United Nations is a historic moment in the century-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
But it is also a diplomatic gamble illustrating how major European powers believe the conflict has reached the point where it requires them to take such an unprecedented move.
Faced with the current catastrophe in Gaza, and meting out condemnation for both Israel and Hamas, French President Emmanuel Macron said “right must prevail over might”.
His move, co-ordinated with the UK and under Saudi sponsorship, is meant to keep the two-state solution on life support.
They believe this long-held international formula for peace is the only path to a fair, shared future for the two societies.
The alternative, UN Secretary General António Guterres told a UN conference in New York, was a “one-state” solution, meaning Israeli domination and the “subjugation” of Palestinians.
Nothing, he said, could justify their collective punishment, starvation or any form of ethnic cleansing.
