JERUSALEM: Israel’s foreign minister has declared international efforts to recognise Palestinian statehood a serious mistake that could provoke unilateral Israeli responses.
Gideon Saar stated that such recognition would destabilise the region and complicate peace efforts during a press conference with his Danish counterpart Lars Lokke Rasmussen.
Several nations including France and Britain have committed to recognising Palestinian statehood during the upcoming UN General Assembly session.
France’s relations with Israel have deteriorated particularly since President Emmanuel Macron announced recognition plans and co-chaired a July conference with Saudi Arabia advocating a two-state solution.
Britain has conditioned its recognition on Israel’s failure to agree to a Gaza truce following Hamas’s October 2023 attack.
Saar emphasised that recognition would push Israel toward unilateral decisions without specifying what measures might follow.
Denmark’s foreign minister confirmed his country would not recognise a Palestinian state under Hamas or any terrorist organisation without meeting strict preconditions.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called unilateral recognition disastrous and a violation of the Oslo Accords during a BBC interview.
The warnings follow Israeli government approval of new West Bank settlement projects including the controversial E1 area east of Jerusalem.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated that developing E1 would effectively bury the concept of a Palestinian state by nearly bisecting the West Bank.
Smotrich himself a settlement resident has called for annexing West Bank areas to permanently prevent Palestinian statehood.
Approximately 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements considered illegal under international law alongside three million Palestinians.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II has firmly rejected any Israeli annexation measures or displacement plans for Palestinians in both the West Bank and Gaza.
Israel previously annexed East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights after capturing them during the 1967 war though most nations reject these claims.
The West Bank has experienced increased violence throughout the Gaza war including settler attacks and military operations. – AFP