Some Western foreign ministers who intend to recognise a Palestinian state, at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in September, have made some good points.
But their statements are contradictory. They infer that their recognition is based on the necessity that Hamas is prevented from participating in any future government in a future Palestinian state.
They also insist on the need for free and fair elections, including presidential and parliamentary elections (Palestinian Legislative Council).
But how can there be such an election in which a major political movement such as Hamas, which has at least 35% support, is excluded?
This is a critical question for all Palestinians.
This question leads to many others, such as why is Hamas condemned as a terrorist organisation by most Western countries?
And why should a Palestinian, or a supporter of Palestinian rights, accept that a group that engages in armed struggle against the Israeli occupation is automatically a terrorist one?
Is Hamas designated a terrorist movement because it has carried out any terrorist act inside Western countries or directly harmed the interests of Western countries? Or is it deemed to be a terrorist movement because it uses armed struggle to resist Israel’s occupation of Palestine?
It is the latter, and it is despite the fact that international conventions affirm that a people under foreign occupation have the right to resist by all possible means, including armed struggle.
International law has affirmed, again and again, that Palestine is being occupied by Israel.
Therefore, disarming the Palestinian resistance is a violation of international law, unless there are other ways to liberate Palestine from occupation, such as negotiations under international auspices with commitments not to allow the Israeli occupation forces to exercise sovereignty over the Occupied Territories or their inhabitants, who must be subject to international protection including, if necessary, international forces that can oversee the end of the occupation.
Most outrageous in the West’s rush to support Palestinian statehood is their refusal to condemn the Israeli occupation forces, which have killed tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians and destroyed Palestinian cities, camps and villages.
They refuse to condemn Israel’s collective punishment against Palestinians or sanction it for preventing humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. Any discussion of Palestinian statehood must be accompanied by sanctions on Israel, including demanding financial compensation for rebuilding what it has demolished.
If the Israeli government is allowed to remain above international law, and not receive the same approach as Russia for its war on Ukraine, then it will not be deterred from its colonialist approach.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s government continues to violate international law by allowing Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem. It does not fear international resolutions on a Palestinian state, or anything else. It has not been sanctioned for its racist policies against Palestinians, or for anything else it has done during this genocide.
Western foreign ministers, including Penny Wong, should be honest. If they will not punish the Israeli government for its war crimes, their pronouncement about Palestinian people having the right to a state will have no clout with Israel.
The Israeli government will not be forced to accept peace negotiations, nor will it recognise the rights of Palestinians.
Therefore, these Western countries are really exercising a PR campaign aimed at letting off steam from the popular anger building against Israel’s daily war crimes.
For any real Palestinian state, there must be justice for Palestinians. This would mean international protection and an end to the occupation of their country. Negotiations can only begin after this step — not before.
The West has no right to demand Palestinians cease their resistance before the occupation has ended and Palestine is liberated.
[Khaled Ghannam is a Palestinian Australian.]