(JNS) France’s current diplomatic drive for international recognition of a Palestinian state without Israeli consent at the UN General Assembly in September is ill-conceived and fraught with defects and dangers.

First of all, when French President Emmanuel Macron announced the initiative two months ago, it instantly stymied the precious progress being made at that time toward a ceasefire and hostage exchange in Gaza, as Hamas leaders immediately realized that they could harden their demands and still gain statehood. It also threatens to abandon the remaining Israeli hostages to the cruel hands of Hamas, which is deliberately starving to death those hostages who are still alive.

This misguided campaign, if continued, would also severely undermine peace and stability in the Middle East, as well as erode established international law that has served the community of nations well in modern times. It also would mark a sharp and problematic departure from the longstanding international consensus that the Israel-Palestinian conflict is best resolved through direct negotiations between the parties themselves.

Such unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood at this time fails for other reasons. For starters, in the wake of the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, it would be an odious reward for terrorism and a grotesquely insensitive gesture in the face of the worst atrocities committed against the Jewish people since the Holocaust.

In addition, the Palestinians simply do not meet the criteria for statehood, as they do not have a sole, unified authority in effective control of the territories they claim. The corrupt Palestinian Authority has lost its legitimacy in the eyes of most Palestinians, while Hamas is a radical and irredeemable terror militia that should not be granted legitimacy from any quarter. While some still want to validate the PA, this bankrupt entity continues to reject Israel’s existence as a Jewish state, as evidenced by its official media outlets and schoolbooks that still openly deny Israel’s rightful place in the region, and indoctrinate future generations toward hatred and violence against Israel, thus revealing their true intentions.

This drive for Palestinian statehood shows profound ignorance of the present division of labor within Palestinian politics. Though still complicit in acts of terror, the PA has largely opted to wage lawfare to delegitimize Israel and to secure Palestinian statehood in all the historic Land of Israel, while Hamas has chosen to stay on the path of “armed resistance,” using terror and violence. By granting recognition of a Palestinian state amid the prolonged conflict ignited by the Oct. 7 massacre, the international community is telling the Palestinians that terror and violence bring results, thereby bolstering Hamas vis-à-vis the PA and setting back peace efforts perhaps for generations.

Also of great importance, Israel has a superior legal and historic right and claim to sovereignty in the disputed territories, whether in relation to the Palestinians or any other rival claimant. This was duly recognized through binding decisions by the international community at the San Remo Conference of 1920 and in the British Mandate in Palestine adopted by the League of Nations in 1922, which called for “close Jewish settlement on the land.”

For those who might question these decisions, consider that Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Jordan all trace their modern-day independence back to the same official bodies applying the same legal principles at the same time as the mandate granted for Jewish statehood.

Next, recognizing a Palestinian state without Israel’s consent would violate the Oslo Accords of 1993, as well as decades of UN Security Council resolutions built on the sound principle of direct bilateral negotiations. This would represent a serious betrayal of Israel’s trust and would sacrifice the sanctity of international agreements on the altar of political expediency.

Such a move also would derail peace efforts and destabilize the region by giving the Palestinians false hopes that they can unilaterally achieve statehood outside of direct bilateral talks with Israel.

Moreover, those European nations supporting this diplomatic initiative are violating the European Union’s customary practice of acting only by consensus on major foreign-policy issues, as a number of EU member states firmly oppose this effort.

Equally concerning, certain nations pushing for this move are doing so for narrow domestic interests. In France, for instance, Macron launched the drive for Palestinian statehood after a recent intelligence report recommended that he do so as a way to appease the growing threat of radical Islamist elements in his nation.

Indeed, this entire campaign for a Palestinian state is a feeble and reckless response to the current wave of global antisemitism and will only fuel more outbreaks of this societal scourge around the world, which all nations must now confront with courage and not cowardice.

The international community must discard with the current ill-advised diplomatic effort to force Palestinian statehood upon Israel and instead focus on the immediate need to conclude a ceasefire and hostage-release deal that also addresses the future administration of the Gaza Strip. Such an agreement must include the safe return of all living and deceased Israeli hostages in Gaza, in addition to the disarmament and universal banishment of Hamas.

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