UK, Canada and Australia Recognise Palestinian State Days After UN Confirms Genocide in Gaza

The United Kingdom, Canada and Australia are the latest Western countries to formally declare their recognition of Palestinian statehood.

Britain and Canada became the first G7 countries to take the step. France has also said it plans to follow suit at the annual UN General Assembly, which kicks off in New York on Monday.

But the historic moves put these countries at odds with their allies the United States and Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to fight the Palestinian statehood initiative at the UN.

Palestinian response

Following the announcements made by the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, the West Bank-based Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates expressed gratitude to the countries for recognising the State of Palestine.

In a post on X, it said that these "courageous decisions" are "in line with international law and international legitimacy resolutions."

"These developments represent a victory for Palestinian rights and the justice of our cause, and send a clear message: no matter how far the occupation goes in its crimes, it will never be able to erase our national rights," Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi told the AFP news agency.

Israel's response

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday told Western leaders that the establishment of a Palestinian state "will not happen."

"I have a clear message for those leaders who recognise a Palestinian state after the horrific massacre on October 7: you are granting a huge reward to terror," he said. "And I have another message for you: it will not happen. No Palestinian state will be established west of the Jordan River."

Netanyahu made the same pledge during a visit to the Maale Adumim settlement in the occupied West Bank this month.

The Israeli prime minister also vowed that his government would continue to expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.

"For years, I have prevented the creation of this terror state despite enormous pressure both domestically and internationally," he said, pointing out that the number of settlements have doubled. "We will continue on this path," Netanyahu added.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said that the recognition is "nothing but a reward for jihadist Hamas."

"Hamas leaders themselves openly admit: this recognition is a direct outcome, the 'fruit' for the October 7 massacre," the ministry posted on X.

Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was more explicit, vowing "countermeasures" including annexing the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

"The recognition by Britain, Canada and Australia of a Palestinian state... requires immediate countermeasures... I intend to submit a proposal for applying sovereignty [over the West Bank] at the upcoming cabinet meeting," he said.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who last month vowed to "bury the idea of a Palestinian state," made a similar statement.

"The days when Britain and other countries would determine our future are over," the member of the National Religious Party-Religious Zionism party said.

This article was originally published on DW.

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