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The notion that this week’s “tsunami of recognitions” of the state of Palestine was triggered by Hamas’ October 2023 attack on Israel is a distortion of reality. The irony is that this narrative is being repeated by both Benjamin Netanyahu and Arab extremists alike.
The Israeli prime minister describes recognition and the two-state solution as a “reward for Hamas” in order to inflame Israeli public opinion and embarrass the US administration.
As for Hamas extremists, they also claim that it is the fruit of Oct. 7. The truth is exactly the opposite. Hamas launched a wide-scale attack to abort the two-state solution project that Ƶ was negotiating with former US President Joe Biden’s administration.
Washington had set as a condition for signing a defense and security agreement with Riyadh that Ƶ recognize Israel. The Kingdom in turn put forth a price for that recognition — namely, the establishment of a Palestinian state — and negotiations began. After a few months, Hamas launched its large-scale attack, knowing that it would be followed by an Israeli war and the sabotage of the negotiations.
It has become known that Hamas’ decision, like those of the Houthis and Hezbollah, was tied to Tehran, which is always determined to prevent any political progress that might curb its drive to dominate the region as a hegemonic power.
Hamas, along with Iran’s axis, has a long record of spoiling every peace initiative, aligning with the wishes of Israeli extremists. They too oppose any political project that could lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Hamas sabotaged the “roadmap for peace” in 2003 with two separate bus bombings that killed 40 Israelis. It succeeded once again in undermining the Annapolis Conference in 2007 and then obstructed Donald Trump’s peace plan in 2020 by carrying out three separate attacks.
This time, with its horrific October 2023 attack, Hamas destroyed itself and its allies, foremost among them Hezbollah, the Assad regime and Iran. In this regional vacuum, Netanyahu seeks to double his gains by both destroying Gaza and annexing the West Bank.
Also in this dangerous vacuum, the Saudi-proposed two-state solution project was activated. A race then emerged between two projects: Netanyahu’s project of liquidating the Palestinian cause by officially annexing the West Bank and securing the support of the US administration; and the Saudi project, which France announced it had joined and adopted, that aimed to mobilize global support for the establishment of a Palestinian state. For months now, a heated diplomatic battle has been underway, culminating in the number of countries recognizing Palestine as a state rising to at least 151.
Before this historic moment, Israel’s government launched a series of threats: tightening the siege on Gaza, depriving its residents of food and medicine, and expanding military operations. It also turned toward the West Bank by disrupting banking activity and threatening a financial and economic collapse, overlooking settler attacks on West Bank residents, permitting further illegal settlement construction and succeeding in preventing the Palestinian president from participating in the UN General Assembly.
Despite all this, the Saudi and French diplomatic mobilization continued and was crowned by the recognition of the state of Palestine by, among others, the UK, France, Canada and Australia — the four countries closest to the US and Israel.
The Saudi-French project has been a remarkable success. Yet we must caution that these achievements are only the beginning.
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed
It is a remarkable success. Yet we must caution that these historic diplomatic achievements are only the beginning. They will provoke the anger of Arab and Israeli extremists, who will work to create chaos and derail the Palestinian state project. Last week’s attack at the bridge connecting Jordan to the West Bank was aimed at striking the project, whether orchestrated by Hamas, Iran or another party. And extremists in Israel are waiting for any attacks to move to the next step: annexing the West Bank and dismantling the Palestinian Authority.
We are living through a new phase, as most Palestinians and Arabs have come to believe in the two-state solution, which explicitly means recognizing the state of Israel, and ending 80 years of conflict, chaos and hatred. This is an important goal and it will not be achieved easily. The Saudi project may require support and adoption by the US administration. And, if that happens, President Trump would fully deserve a Nobel Peace Prize.
- Abdulrahman Al-Rashed is a Saudi journalist and intellectual. He is the former general manager of Al-Arabiya news channel and former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat, where this article was originally published. X: @aalrashed