Without dialog?

Israel fears US recognition of Palestine

According to a newspaper report, Israel's government fears that the US government could recognize Palestine unilaterally.(Bild: luzitanija/stock.adobe.com)

According to a newspaper report, Israel's government is concerned that the USA could recognize a Palestinian state without Israel's consent. It is already aware of "intensive activities" to establish a Palestinian government.

The White House wants a reformed Palestinian Authority to take control of the Gaza Strip after the end of the war. Israel's government, on the other hand, is in favor of retaining security control after the end of the war. In addition, the coastal area must be demilitarized.

Hamas against two-state solution
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu generally rejects a two-state solution. This refers to an independent Palestinian state that exists peacefully side by side with Israel. However, efforts to achieve this have not made any progress for years. The Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas, which seized sole power in the Gaza Strip in 2007, also rejects a two-state solution.

A Hamas fighter in Israel on October 7(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

According to the newspaper "Maariv", US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has now said in Jerusalem that a Palestinian state could also be recognized without a dialogue or without Israel's consent. "It will not change the principles that Israel wants - namely a fundamental reform of the schools, changing the curriculum to ensure that the Authority no longer educates to hate Israel and does not encourage terror, does not glorify terrorists and does not call them 'holy martyrs'," a government representative told the newspaper.

Status as an observer state
Israel's military conquered the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967. Today, three million Palestinians and around 700,000 Israeli settlers live there. The United Nations granted Palestine observer state status in 2012. To date, 139 UN member states already recognize Palestine as a separate state, but Austria and the USA do not. They have always emphasized that this must be agreed in peace negotiations with Israel's government.