FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The question is less rhetorical than it sounds. Why are these countries, the three pillars of the Atlantic order, deciding to break a balance they have maintained for decades?
Something is happening. Behind the scenes of Western diplomacy, a quiet but increasingly determined front is taking shape. After Norway, Ireland and Spain, now France, the United Kingdom and Canada have lined up: At the UN General Assembly in September, they will vote to officially recognize the State of Palestine. They have announced it. And it looks like they will. But why now?
The question is less rhetorical than it sounds. Why are these countries, the three pillars of the Atlantic order, deciding to break a balance they have maintained for decades? The answer, perhaps, is not only in the tragedy of Gaza, nor in the will, however sincere, to restore a minimum of dignity to the Palestinians.
No, there is a bigger game: a game being played at the table between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump. And in this scenario, recognizing the state of Palestine becomes less an end than a means. A way to force Trump, now back in the White House for a second term, to take a stand.
Everyone has their own agenda.
Let’s start with France. President Emmanuel Macron needs to rebuild his credibility, both at home and abroad. Protests against pension reform, the rise of the far-right, and widespread discontent are pushing him to find a cause that gives his mandate a moral direction. Palestine, now a global symbol of injustice, becomes the cause.
Then there is the new UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer. After the turbulent era of Boris Johnson and the end of the Conservative reign, Starmer must give his Labour party a new lease of life and stop former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s new party from luring MPs. So Starmer can no longer ignore the Palestinian issue, especially now that significant sections of his base are openly demanding it.
A Palestinian state will not be created in September. Of course, recognition will be “conditional,” as Downing Street has already hinted: security for Israel, democratic reforms within the Palestinian Authority, and above all, the removal of Hamas from any political power in a future Palestinian government. But the political signal will be clear.
Finally, Canada, which also has a new prime minister. Mark Carney, who succeeded Justin Trudeau, has presented himself as a pragmatic and progressive leader. But he is also the most exposed to U.S. retaliation. Trump has already threatened new tariffs on Canadian steel and cars if Ottawa recognizes Palestine. And yet, the Canadian government seems determined to move forward.
The real objective
Yet at the center of all this remains Netanyahu. Isolated, arrogant, resistant to any compromise proposal, even the joint diplomatic offensive by Egypt, Qatar and the United States has failed to convince him. The attack on Rafah, carried out amid international protests and UN condemnation, is the latest example of a political line that allows neither a ceasefire nor negotiations.
This is where Trump comes in. While his personal and ideological connection to Netanyahu is strong, the US president is also under pressure. Within his own party, among moderate Republicans, discontent is growing. Within the military and diplomatic apparatus, the frustration is palpable.
So the recognition of Palestine by six Western democracies aims to do just that: force Trump to choose. Either he remains tied to Netanyahu and risks global isolation, or he pressures his ally for a ceasefire. Perhaps not out of conviction, but out of convenience.
A symbolic moment
Let's be clear. In September, a Palestinian state will not actually be created. The conditions do not exist. There is no unified territory, no single government, no true economic or military independence.
But formal recognition, voted on by countries in the UN Security Council and carrying weight on the international stage, would change the picture; it would give the Palestinians, and above all the Palestinian Authority, a new kind of political legitimacy. And it would force Israel out of the diplomatic bubble of impunity in which it has taken refuge.
But in diplomacy, symbols matter.
In Europe, too, the atmosphere has changed. The images from Gaza, the university occupations, the ceasefire movements, all had an impact. Macron cannot ignore the public square. Starmer cannot ignore the young and progressive vote. Carney must hold an increasingly polarized Canada together. And behind the rhetoric of “two peoples, two states,” there is for the first time a real attempt to break down the wall of silence.
Recognition serves this purpose too: to signal that something is changing. So that we can no longer pretend that Palestine is simply a "problem." It is a people. It is an identity. And it is a responsibility. September will be a symbolic moment. But in diplomacy, symbols matter. They may not immediately change the facts on the ground. But they can change the language used to describe those facts.
And in times like these, when truth is manipulated and justice is used as a weapon, even changing language can be a powerful political act./ Adapted from "Pamphlet" by "WorldCrunch"
Lini një Përgjigje