Western leaders offer false promises to Palestine
〈노동자 연대〉 구독
Western leaders are being pressured to recognise a Palestinian state—but it offers no real solution for the Palestinians
The horrors Israel has unleashed in Gaza have put Western leaders in a bind—and the global Palestine movement is only adding to the pressure.
Last week, French president Emmanuel Macron announced that France would formally recognise a Palestinian state. The next day, over a third of British MPs wrote to Keir Starmer demanding he does the same.
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu said France’s decision “rewards terror” and creates “a launch pad to annihilate Israel”. Starmer responded by recalling his cabinet for an emergency meeting on Gaza. Government officials now say recognition is a matter of “when, not if”.
For 22 months, the British and French states have not just remained silent on Israel’s genocide. They have actively participated, through words, actions and arms. Starmer saying Israel has the right to starve children will be forever etched in the memory of the movement.
So what is behind the shift?
The move doesn’t derive from a moral awakening. Rather, Western leaders are grappling with a crisis of legitimacy.
As Israel commits new atrocities every day—starvation, murder, annexation—their claims to “humanitarianism” are barely hanging on by a thread.
Israel’s self-image has long been of a “liberal democracy” in the shape of the West. But the horrors of genocide mean people are seeing through the West’s sham commitment to “humanitarianism”.
That has driven Starmer and Macron, and some inside Israel, to try and claw back legitimacy.
This dynamic pushed foreign secretary David Lammy to offer vapid words of criticism, but criticism nonetheless, towards Israel’s barbaric regime in May.
Of course, British and French support of Israel stems from imperialist interests in the Middle East.
The need for Starmer to line up behind Donald Trump, who he met this week, on this point means he’s walking a fine line. Recognising Palestine would go against the demands of a junior partner to US imperialism.
For Macron, the dynamic is different. He’s been looking to rebuild economic ties with the Middle East, especially with Egypt and Syria. Recognising Palestine makes that imperialist project easier, alleviating some Trump-shaped pressure.
Pressure could go the other way. With French recognition, three of the five permanent members of the UN security council would recognise Palestine.
It could add further pressure on Starmer to break with Trump and US imperialism over this question.
But recognising a Palestinian state, alongside Israel, is ultimately a sham solution. A two-state “solution” freezes Palestinian self-determination. Historically it has been nothing more than a false promise.
It’s something for leaders to hide behind while maintaining the status quo of imperialist and Israeli terror in the Middle East.
The movement has pushed leaders to this point. The cracks are showing, and it must demand more. Until Israel itself is recognised for what it is—a genocidal, terror state with no right to exist—Palestinian recognition is not worth the paper it is written on.