French President Emmanuel Macron announced in late July that his country would officially recognize the Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September. France will follow in the footsteps of Norway, Ireland, and Spain, which made similar announcements in May. This naturally drew positive reactions from Dutch left-wing politicians such as Rob Jetten and Jan Paternotte. Frans Timmermans even called for this symbolic policy, because that is precisely what it is.

By Naomi Mestrum
According to the 1933 Montevideo Convention, a state must meet four criteria to be considered such: it must have a permanent population, a defined territory, a government, and the capacity to establish relations with other states. At least two of these criteria are not relevant to the Palestinians.

What exactly will the territory of this new Palestinian state be? Will it include both Gaza and the West Bank? Will East Jerusalem be included or not? It's all still completely unclear—and not easy to resolve, as the status of Jerusalem has been one of the biggest obstacles in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians for decades. Without an agreement on this, recognition of a Palestinian state is a sham.

And not only that: a government is also lacking. Fatah governs the West Bank, while the terrorist group Hamas holds sway in Gaza. The two cannot stand each other: in 2007, Fatah members were publicly executed by Hamas in the streets of Gaza. The internal divisions remain enormous 18 years later. Which government will be recognized? What form of government will "Palestine" take?

In his statement, Macron also calls for an immediate ceasefire and the release of the hostages. He also calls on Hamas to lay down its arms. The chance of this happening is zero: the terrorist group has had the opportunity to do so for almost two years but categorically refused. If this continues, will France still proceed with recognition of the Palestinian state? If so, then this is nothing less than a reward for terror—and encouragement to continue that terror unabated.

It seems increasingly forgotten how this war began. We saw during the horrific massacre of October 7, 2023, what "from the river to the sea" truly means. Hamas will always view Israel as a hostile entity that has no right to exist and must be fought as much as possible. Macron wrote to President Abbas about the conditions he sets for a Palestinian state: demilitarization of Hamas and full recognition of Israel. Realizing these conditions is still miles away.

What will he do if these conditions are not met?

Let there be no misunderstanding, the Center for Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI) has always supported a two-state solution, provided it ensures peace and security and meets the aspirations of both peoples. This can only be achieved through negotiations on leadership, borders, the status of Jerusalem, and refugees.

Recognition of Palestine should only follow the establishment of a lasting peace between the two peoples and not through political boasting, which is ultimately nothing more than a reward for terror, because premature recognition removes any responsibility from the Palestinians to negotiate a solution.

Dutch politicians and their European counterparts should therefore be wise to steer clear of this kind of cheap symbolic rhetoric until a sustainable solution is reached between both the Palestinians and Israel.

Naomi Mestrum is the director of the CIDI, the leading organisation in the Netherlands, dedicated to combating antisemitism and spreading awareness of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This article was first published in Dutch in de Telegraaf.

DISCLAIMER: The views in this article reflect those of the author, and not those of all the members of the editorial team.