FLASH
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On the day the French president celebrated a "diplomatic victory," the creation of a Palestinian state seemed more distant than ever...
On September 25, 2025, as a high-level conference on the two-state solution was held at the United Nations and ten Western countries were added to the long list of states that had already recognized Palestine, the Alon Road was almost empty of Palestinian cars. Most roads in the West Bank are now blocked by iron gates, which open and close at the whim of Israeli army commanders.
This is how journalist Gideon Levy begins his article in Haaretz, providing a panorama of the contrast between international diplomacy and the reality on the ground.
On the same day that 159 countries recognized the “dream state,” an 81-year-old Palestinian shepherd, Sadek Farhana, lay in his house, screaming in pain. The day before, he had been brutally beaten by Jewish settlers who had robbed him of his flock of sheep. His nephew, also injured, had his head bandaged after the attack. Israeli police were quick to blame the Palestinian shepherds, absurdly accusing them of stealing from the settlers who attacked them.
On the day the French president celebrated a "diplomatic victory," the creation of a Palestinian state seemed more distant than ever. Even the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, was not allowed to travel to the United States to attend the conference discussing the future of his country, a flagrant violation of the agreement signed with the UN by Washington.
At the same time, the most wanted man at the International Criminal Court, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accused of crimes against humanity, was preparing to travel to New York. The irony is stark: the president of a state that “does not exist” speaks via video link to the General Assembly, while the ICC’s main defendant takes the podium in front of the entire world.
On the day the world recognized the Palestinian state, 61 people were killed in Gaza, more or less the same number as the day before and the day after, as has happened in recent months. This act of recognition did not and will not save even a single child from the bombs. Gaza has become uninhabitable, while the situation of Palestinians in the West Bank is increasingly resembling a similar reality. It is highly unlikely that the brutally beaten old shepherd has even heard of this “diplomatic victory.”
The statements of Britain and France changed nothing for him; and if Monaco or Andorra had joined the list, nothing would have changed in his fate. No statement returns the stolen sheep. For Levy, hypocritical Europe simply made another empty statement, pointing the finger at the wounds of Gaza and the West Bank, but without taking any tangible steps to stop them.
While the genocide in Gaza continues unabated and settlers, together with the Israeli army, sow terror in the West Bank, the world “did the minimum duty” by recognizing a state that will probably never be born. How easy it is to recognize, how difficult to stop the killing, Levy quipped. As always, Israel reacted by calling this step “anti-Semitism,” while all Israeli opposition parties, including Yair Golan’s Democrats, lined up alongside the government to condemn it.
For those who expected a drastic step to immediately stop the systematic destruction in Gaza, this move is a great disappointment. World leaders can now calm their consciences and their worried peoples: we have punished the criminal, we have rewarded the victim, we have done our part. Gaza, in fact, remains in flames.
Levy calls the recognition of a Palestinian state “absurd, almost crazy” at this time. According to him, today there is no real partner for a two-state solution, neither in Israel nor in Palestine. Gaza is destroyed, while the West Bank has been fragmented into enclaves that resemble not a state, but a mosaic of bantustans. “If you want to save what is left of Gaza, you must immediately impose severe sanctions on Israel,” he emphasizes.
Although Levy's analysis sounds harsh, it highlights a reality: recognizing Palestine is a largely symbolic step, with few concrete effects. History often reveals its meanings only in the future, but currently European hypocrisy is more visible than ever. Perhaps it is more of a moral crime than a hypocritical gesture, since symbolism has been chosen to avoid real action.
Meanwhile in New York, President Trump, who had received a letter from Hamas offering a ceasefire, met with leaders of Arab and Muslim countries gathered for the General Assembly. According to the Times of Israel, Trump presented a detailed plan for peace in Gaza, which received support from those present.
Early mediator Steve Witkoff has also returned to the scene, expressing confidence that the coming days could bring an agreement to end the bloodshed. In this context, sources for the Times of Israel point out that Trump has declared to Arab leaders that he will not allow Tel Aviv to annex the West Bank, a warning that coincides with the position of Saudi Arabia, which had made it clear that annexation would be a "red line" with serious consequences. A day earlier, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar had declared that annexation "is not in Tel Aviv's current plans."
Meanwhile, Netanyahu prepares to address the General Assembly with the usual rhetoric and then meet with Trump, in a meeting where, according to Israeli commentators, the memory of the “compulsion to obey” that Netanyahu has exerted on the American president will not be absent. Hoping that Trump will remain steadfast is difficult, but nevertheless necessary. / Adapted from “Inside Over”
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