Top diplomat calls on more countries to recognise Palestinian state
Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin has thanked countries that have recognised a Palestinian state or are about to do so, calling on others to join them.
“A number of states are going to declare their recognition,” she said at a news conference in Ramallah. “It will be a very important message. Above all, it is a message of hope to the Palestinian people, a message of hope for a free, independent, sovereign state.”
She said the recognition of Palestinian statehood would mean that “Israel has no sovereignty on the territories of our state”.
She called on countries that were “hesitant” to recognise Palestinian statehood to join those that were about to, promising that the “voice of the Palestinian people will be loud and clear within the walls of the United Nations” at a meeting of the UN General Assembly in New York this week.
“The whole world stands united behind the Palestinian cause,” she said. “The Israeli occupation is the root of all evils within the region.”
Shahin has called on the international community to halt the genocidal violence faced by Palestinians in Gaza.
“‘Never again’ meant that never again the atrocities committed in World War II will be committed,” she said. “Never again is not a slogan. It applies to all people regardless of race, religion, ethnicity and colour, and it also applies to us in Palestine,” she said. “We will continue to say ‘never again’ and we will continue to call very loud for the halting of the brutal aggression we are … subjected to.”
She said it was critical to call out Israel’s actions in Gaza for what they were – a genocide.
“We need to continue saying it is a genocide and nothing else but a genocide,” she said. “Israel’s actions are a systematic assault on the very fabric of humanity, designed to erase the Palestinian people’s existence, culture and future.”
Bereaved Israelis urge Palestinian state recognition before UNGA
Maoz Inon, 49, whose parents were killed by Palestinian fighters during the October 2023 attack on southern Israel, is among thousands of Israelis calling on the international community to formally recognise the State of Palestine in advance of a UN summit next week, where several Western countries are set to do so.
“By revenging the death, we are not going to bring them back to life. And we’re only going to escalate the cycle of violence, bloodshed, and revenge we’ve been trapped within, not since October 7, but for a century,” he told AFP in Tel Aviv.
Inon has become a key figure in a new campaign calling for Palestinian statehood. The campaign’s petition, titled “No to War – Yes to Recognition”, has so far garnered the signatures of more than 8,500 Israelis, with organisers hoping to submit the document with 10,000 names at the UN General Assembly (UNGA).
“Recognising a Palestinian state is not a punishment for Israel, but a step toward a safer and better future, based on mutual recognition and security for both peoples,” the petition reads.
The initiative was launched by Israeli grassroots movement Zazim Community Action, which has distributed thousands of posters and put up a billboard in Tel Aviv as part of the campaign.
“On October 8, 2023, it was clear already that the doctrine of managing the conflict has totally collapsed, and that we have two options,” said Raluca Ganea, a cofounder of the movement. “One is complete destruction and annihilation of the other side, or a two-state solution.”
More than 60 Israeli peace and reconciliation organisations have called for recognition of a Palestinian state in advance of the UNGA, according to Ran Yaron of It’s Time Coalition, the largest peace initiative in Israel.
In a statement to Al Jazeera, Yaron said at the heart of the coalition’s campaign is a powerful video featuring representatives from the member organisations, calling to stop the Gaza war, release all captives, and “seize the recognition of a Palestinian state as a historic opportunity for a political breakthrough”.
“This is not our fate,” the video declares. “We refuse to live forever by the sword. The UN decision offers a historic opportunity to move from a death trap to life, from an endless messianic war to a future of security and freedom for both peoples."
