- The US follows Britain in its floating idea to recognize the state of Palestine
- The move is seen as a possible first step towards finding peace in the Middle East
- Axios reported that Secretary of State Antony Blinken ordered a policy review
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has reportedly ordered officials to develop proposals that would allow the US to recognize Palestinian statehood after the war in Gaza ends.
It marks a profound shift in US policy, which has long opposed the recognition of Palestine as a state until an agreement is reached between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
But it comes as President Joe Biden faces intense pressure from his own party to take a tougher stance on Israel and provide more support to the Palestinians under siege in Gaza.
A senior American official said this Axios that recognition could be the first step toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, not the last.
That will infuriate Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who insists Israel must maintain security control over the entire Palestinian territory.
Palestinian Hamas supporters hold a Palestinian flag during a protest, demanding that personnel fired in the Gaza Strip over allegations that they participated in the October 7 attack on southern Israel be reinstated and that countries provide funding of the agency
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has reportedly asked officials to develop proposals that would allow the US to recognize Palestinian statehood after the war in Gaza ends.
However, he may face concerted pressure from the West.
Details of the US plan emerged shortly after Britain’s foreign secretary said it was time for Britain to consider recognizing Palestine.
“We should start explaining what a Palestinian state would look like – what it would include, how it would work,” he said on Monday.
Republican Senator Tom Cotton immediately condemned any idea of a Palestinian state.
‘After the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, the Biden administration wants to reward Hamas and their allies? A Palestinian state would be a terrorist enclave dedicated to the destruction of Israel,” he said on the social media platform
Attitudes in the Arab world have also hardened since the October 7 Hamas attack and the Israeli bombardment of Gaza. Saudi officials have said any normalization deal with Israel must include a path to a Palestinian state.
Officials told Axios that Blinken had requested a review of options, but nothing had been decided yet.
Blinken reportedly asked for an analysis of how a demilitarized Palestinian state would work, an idea Netanyahu has floated in the past.
People bury Palestinians, including those killed in Israeli attacks and fire, after their bodies were released by Israel, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, at a mass grave in Rafah
An Israeli soldier takes position on the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel, Monday, January 29, 2024
The idea is to find a two-state solution that would not protect Israeli security, the official said.
Tensions have risen in the Middle East in recent weeks as Iranian-backed militias have attacked international shipping and US forces in the region.
On Wednesday, Israeli forces stormed areas in northern and southern Gaza after Hamas said it was reviewing a proposal for a ceasefire and the release of hostages.
Health authorities in Gaza say 26,900 people have been killed there since October 7, including 150 in the past 24 hours.
