Palestinian Statehood Declarations Are an Insult to Palestinians

We’re confronted with the curious condition in which, following the recognition of Palestine as a state by a handful of Western capitals, almost no one is talking about the reaction to it among the Palestinian people. Indeed, Palestinians themselves are little more than an afterthought in the debate over their own political future. This was all about Israel.

The governments of Australia, Canada, Portugal, and the U.K., with France likely to follow their lead soon enough, talk about the extending of statehood to Palestine as a means of either punishing Israel or coercing it. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hopes that his government’s maneuver will force Jerusalem to recommit to the “two-state” solution. “The current Israeli government is working methodically to prevent the prospect of a Palestinian state from ever being established,” Canada’s Mark Carney said in a bitter address that marked a supposedly celebratory day. The gambit has so far “not curbed Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza,” the New York Times admitted, a tacit confession that shackling Israel was the whole point of this enterprise.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.

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We’re confronted with the curious condition in which, following the recognition of Palestine as a state by a handful of Western capitals, almost no one is talking about the reaction to it among the Palestinian people. Indeed, Palestinians themselves are little more than an afterthought in the debate over their own political future. This was all about Israel.

The governments of Australia, Canada, Portugal, and the U.K., with France likely to follow their lead soon enough, talk about the extending of statehood to Palestine as a means of either punishing Israel or coercing it. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hopes that his government’s maneuver will force Jerusalem to recommit to the “two-state” solution. “The current Israeli government is working methodically to prevent the prospect of a Palestinian state from ever being established,” Canada’s Mark Carney said in a bitter address that marked a supposedly celebratory day. The gambit has so far “not curbed Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza,” the New York Times admitted, a tacit confession that shackling Israel was the whole point of this enterprise.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.