“You can say the earth is flat a hundred times from the UN podium in New York, and that will still not make it real.”—Arsen Ostrovsky, human rights attorney

At the UN General Assembly last Friday, a handful of prominent Western nations, desperate to show they still have global influence, joined overwhelming support of a resolution recognizing the “State of Palestine.” Their gesture is absurd, of course, since no such state exists. Indeed, for 78 years the Palestinians have proven incapable of accepting, let alone creating a state of their own. Moreover, recognition of Palestine by Canada, the UK, France and others won’t help the Palestinians in the least, nor will it have the desired effect of persuading Israel to cease its military campaign in Gaza intended to destroy Hamas.

If Western nations seriously wanted to help the Palestinians achieve self-determination—rather than issue empty declarations to mollify Muslim and leftist voters at home—they would address the objective obstacles to Palestinian statehood. They would start with the Palestinians’ obstinate refusal to accept the Jewish state instead of trying to destroy it, which alone disqualifies them from statehood, regardless of recognition by the UN General Assembly.

As for influencing Israel’s war on Hamas, the Europeans again miss the point, which in this case is the Jewish state fighting for its survival and security. No abstract endorsements of Palestinians’ right to independence will deter Israel’s campaign to secure its existence.

On the other hand, the United States, which voted against the UNGA resolution, has recently taken specific steps to awaken Palestinian leadership to the need for concrete changes on the ground—and culturally—before Israel or the U.S. would permit Palestinian independence. For example, the U.S. has moved to defund flawed UN agencies supporting the Palestinians and financially penalize corrupt Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership for undermining peace with Israel.

Recognizing “Palestine” is nonsensical. International law holds that statehood requires a permanent population, a defined territory, effective governance, and the ability to enter into relations with other states. The Palestinians meet none of these criteria.

For starters, there is no coherent government of Palestine. Hamas, devastated by its war with Israel, rules Gaza in name only, while the PA in Judea and Samaria (the “West Bank”) has not held elections since 2006. The PA has only tentative control over the territories assigned to it under the Oslo Accords, having lost control of the Gaza Strip to Hamas in 2007. Its control in Judea and Samaria is uneven and precarious, dependent on Israel to enforce order.

In fact, Palestinian governmental institutions have demonstrated repeatedly they are incapable of managing an independent state. The Palestinians also lack a self-sustaining economy. Even Palestinians themselves doubt the PA’s legitimacy, consistently showing in polls that many if not most living under PA rule want the institution dissolved and 89-year-old Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas thrown out.

Palestinians demonstrate inability and unwillingness to take on the hard job of statehood. If Western countries wanted the Palestinians to achieve statehood, they would support Israel’s fight against global jihadism rather than repeatedly bashing it, then implement programs to actively help the Palestinians overcome their rampant dysfunction.

For starters, Western countries could pressure the Palestinians to accept the presence and legitimacy of the Jewish state of Israel instead of trying to annihilate it. Obviously, Israel will never allow yet another country on its borders determined to destroy it. Although the Palestinians have paid lip service to the two-state solution, they have never implemented steps indicating willingness to live peacefully alongside a Jewish state.

For example, last week, Mahmoud Abbas told British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that his people were committed to “living side by side with the State of Israel in security, stability, and good neighborliness.” Yet, simultaneously, Abbas’s Fatah movement posted on social media its joyful celebration of “the heroic operation in the heart of Jerusalem city” in which six Israeli civilians at a bus station were murdered in cold blood by two terrorists. These homicides qualified the terrorists to receive generous monthly stipends for life from the PA. Rather than making pointless declarations at the UN, Western countries intent on recognizing “Palestine” would demand that Abbas end his perverse “pay-for-slay” program.

U.S. measures pressure Palestinians to address statehood barriers. Rather than rewarding the Palestinians for the October 7 massacre and ongoing terrorist murders of innocent Israelis with statehood recognition, the U.S. has chosen a more realistic path. U.S. actions are designed to change Palestinian behavior.

For example, the Trump Administration has ended all direct funding to the PA and has continued withholding funding from UNRWA, the corrupt UN agency that has worked hand-in-glove with Hamas in Gaza and some of whose staff actually participated in the October 7^th massacre. Trump also withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council because of its “chronic bias” against Israel.

The Trump Administration also recently revoked or denied visas for the leaders of the PA and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The U.S. State Department explained, saying, “It is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace.”

In short, the U.S. has taken measures aimed at pressuring the Palestinians to prepare themselves for self-determination. In contrast, Western states intent on recognizing “Palestine” at the UN are encouraging the Palestinians to follow the same dark—and self-destructive—path they’ve pursued for nearly eight decades.

Simply “recognizing” a Palestinian state doesn’t help create one. Of course, the folly of some Western countries in recognizing “Palestine” isn’t even aimed at helping the Palestinians achieve statehood. It’s meant to punish Israel for waging a two-year war against Hamas, whose unpalatable results they are forced to view on every evening’s news. They are apparently unwilling to pay the price for destroying a genocidal terrorist group whose goal is to annihilate not only Israel, but all of Western civilization.

Please make the point when speaking with family, friends, colleagues—or in letters to the editor—that those who support Palestinian independence would best put pressure on Palestinian leaders to create conditions necessary for achieving statehood—acceptance of the Jewish state, functional governmental institutions, a self-sustaining economy, an education system that teaches tolerance, rather than terrorism.

If you agree we need to spread this truth, please use your email browser to forward this Hotline issue to fellow lovers of Israel—and encourage them to join us by subscribing to the Hotline at no charge.

Best regards,
James Sinkinson, President
Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME)

P.S.      Surely you’ve recently read of some celebrity, politician, radical student, foreign head of state or media pundit slander Israel with the “Gaza genocide” lie. Many who spread this lie are ignorant, but most are anti-Israel haters. They care nothing for the truth. The tragedy is, when they utter the Gaza genocide falsehood, too few knowledgeable people—and virtually no media—stand up to refute it. Indeed, when you share the simple facts, the genocide lie crumbles. Upon learning that Israel conducts its war against Hamas terrorists with the highest ethical standards—and that nothing Israel does in Gaza fits the definition of genocide—fair-minded people quickly see through the lie. . I hope you’ll agree that we supporters of the Israel-U.S. relationship need to speak out. FLAME’s new hasbarah—explanatory message—“Facts Shatter Gaza Genocide Lies”—describes what genocide is and is not and proves factually that Israel’s tactics in the war are ethical and righteous. It also reveals demographic data showing that the Palestinian population in Gaza is actually increasing. Finally, it notes that those who spread the Gaza genocide lie fit the classic definition of antisemites. Please review this convincing, fact-based editorial, which FLAME is about to publish to millions—in leading social media, as well as in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Tampa Bay Times, Denver Post and Los Angeles Times. This piece will also be sent to all members of Congress, the President and Vice President. If you agree that this kind of public relations effort on Israel’s behalf is critical, I urge you to support us with a donation.

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I’m sure you’d agree: If your enemy says they want to kill you and take your land, you’d be smart to believe them. If you try to make peace, but they refuse all your offers and continue to make murderous threats, it’s time to eliminate this enemy. Israel has faced exactly this danger with the Palestinians—yet continued to hope for peace . . . until Hamas’s October 7 massacre and kidnappings. Finally, Israel and many lovers of Israel are facing reality. They’ve concluded their futile dreams of peace must end. They must finally defeat their Palestinian enemies—starting with Hamas and other jihadi terrorists