Some eight months after the October 7 massacre, the most shocking attack to have been perpetrated against the Jewish people since the Holocaust in which Palestinian terrorists and their supporters in Gaza murdered some 1,200 Israelis, almost all civilian, and garnered mass validation for their acts from the Palestinian public in the PA and Gaza Strip, several European nations, including Spain, Ireland, Norway, and Armenia, announced their recognition of a Palestinian state. The obvious question is, How, after all the atrocities committed by Hamas murderers and their ilk, do some nations think that the solution lies in giving a state to people who butchered, raped, and abducted Jews or expressed support for these acts? This was an extraordinary step reflecting these nations’ pro-Palestinian policy predating October 7, 2023. They were already interested in recognizing a Palestinian state but were reluctant to do so out of concern over the serious diplomatic crisis that would inevitably ensue after such a move.
The fact that this occurred is a reflection of Israel’s political weakness. Now, nine months after that contemptible assault, Israel is the entity portrayed as the assailant and the one carrying out “genocide.” Many nations, especially in Europe, recognizing the isolated position in which Israel now finds itself and the disagreements between it and the United States, have concluded that the time is ripe for making plays against Israel. And even though the Ministry of Foreign Affair engaged with the Spanish, Irish, and Norwegian governments and various influential elements, these nations – and Spain in particular – made different calculations that seem to have been primarily motivated by their domestic political issues.
However, what Ireland, Spain, and Norway have not realized is that they have strengthened the belief of Islamist jihadists in their own countries that terrorism works. The leaders of these nations can now expect Islamist demonstrations at home and listen to Islamist rhetoric from protesters. In Hamburg, there have already been several demonstrations of Muslims demanding the institution of the Shariah and the establishment of an Islamic caliphate to replace the democratic Federal Republic of Germany. For now, Germany does not support a process of recognizing a state of Palestine. German politicians understand that what they see happening with regard to Israel is liable to occur in their own nation. In fact, some have called on jailing the protesters and revoking their citizenship.
What is the message of recognizing a Palestinian state?
When Palestinians calls for “liberation from the occupation” and “from the river to the sea” they mean precisely what we saw on October 7. They are sending a very clear message: they aim to kill Jews and/or drive them out of this place. The Palestinian state they want to establish would be a terrorist entity that would almost certainly be ruled by Hamas and function as an Iranian protectorate. And the message that those European nations are sending is that terrorism pays off. The message we ought to be sending the same European leaders is this: your recognition of a Palestinian state tells those terrorists that the more people they massacre, the more support they will get from European nations and the rest of the international community.
Anyone who knows the Middle East well, knows that the rules of jihad are deeply rooted in this region. A Palestinian state would serve as a base from which to carry out further attacks on Israel en route to its elimination as the state of the Jews. This is a clear reflection of the European policy of appeasement, which seems to be formulated in order to avoid yet another Middle East war. Needless to say, this policy only invites the next round of fighting.
This is the Palestinian philosophy, including that of the Palestinian Authority, which is viewed by the world’s leaders as a legitimate entity that should be in charge of the Gaza Strip on “the day after.” It was possible to see this after the Oslo Accords: immediately after they were signed, Yasser Arafat gave his infamous Johannesburg Address in which he declared that the Oslo Accords were akin to Muhammad’s Treaty of al-Hudaybiya with the residents of Mecca before he seized control of it. This is the approach that, unfortunately, Europeans refuse to acknowledge.
Moreover, Hamas, which has gained an absolute majority of support of the Palestinian public, both in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, openly states in its charter that its goal is the erasure of the Jewish state and the mass murder of Jews. The unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state – even if we’re talking about a symbolic act devised for internal European interests – sends Palestinians and jihadists a clear message that terrorism aimed against Jews is justified and that the world will pay them whatever they want for their crimes. They are thereby proving that Palestinians will achieve their goals only by force. This has another meaning too: the Palestinians will never be asked to acquiesce to any conditions or negotiations over borders or to reject terrorism and incitement in schools and mosques. On the contrary, if they choose terrorism, they will receive everything they wish for.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the movement
