Western Recognitions of Palestine: Between Opportunities and Risks

In 2025, a series of international recognitions of the State of Palestine were issued, particularly from Western European countries. While this represents an undeniable political and moral gain for the Palestinians, it simultaneously raises complex questions and entails certain risks.

For many years, the official European discourse linked any recognition of the State of Palestine to the outcomes of negotiations with Israel, meaning that Palestinian legitimacy depended on the approval of the occupying power. Today, with the acceleration of settlement expansion in the West Bank, the ongoing war in Gaza, and the absence of any real prospect for the political process, some Western countries have been compelled to break this old rule and proceed with recognizing the Palestinian state, even if symbolically or conditionally.

This recognition represents a political and moral gain for the Palestinians, but it also raises fundamental questions: How will it affect the status of the Palestinian Authority and its institutions, which have been suffering for years? Will this recognition open a new horizon for the Palestinian national project, or will it transform it into a symbolic entity without actual sovereignty, similar to the model of the Knights of Malta, who are internationally recognized but without control over land or resources?

From the perspective of international law, this recognition is considered a step in the right direction, as the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, clarified that the recognition of the State of Palestine should not be linked to the outcomes of negotiations with Israel, because the occupation itself constitutes a violation of international law. Military occupation is an illegal act that contradicts international norms, and countries must take immediate action to end it without waiting for negotiations. Continuing to link recognition to the end of the occupation effectively legitimizes and prolongs it, which reinforces the logic of power at the expense of the law.

Israel and the United States have long recognized the danger of the international Palestinian path, especially after Palestine obtained observer state status at the United Nations in 2012 and joined organizations such as the International Court of Justice and UNESCO. Washington responded with a series of sanctions, including: refusing to transfer funds owed to the Palestinians, restricting financial aid, and questioning the legitimacy of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which is already classified as a terrorist organization by the United States.

As for Israel, it has followed a policy aimed at weakening the Palestinian Authority by placing it in a precarious position. In 2016, former Israeli Security Minister Begin stated that "the Authority is a security treasure, and Hamas is a strategic treasure," meaning that Israel seeks to keep the Authority as an entity dependent on it economically and security-wise without having true sovereignty.

This policy has clearly reflected in the financial realm; Israel controls the clearance system that generates about 65% of the Palestinian Authority's revenues. Instead of transferring the full amounts as stipulated in the "Paris Protocol," Israel withholds a portion of it (about 3%) and deducts what it claims is allocated for the families of martyrs and prisoners, which it uses as a political and economic pressure tool. As a result, the Authority was unable in 2025 to pay its employees' salaries in full, only managing to pay 35% of them, leading to paralysis in the education, health, and public service sectors.

File: Palestinian Governance

In the context of forced existence, collective identity becomes replaceable, and political rights are stripped in unimaginable ways.

In the West Bank, land confiscation and settlement expansion turn the land into a maze of barriers and isolated areas, making the exercise of sovereignty impossible.

In Jerusalem, residency rights can be revoked at any moment.

In exile, millions of refugees remain stateless, deprived of the right of return despite the clarity of this right in international law.

These cases together form a systematic strategy to fragment the Palestinian people, to avoid the formation of a cohesive political identity, and to weaken the demand for the right to self-determination. Understanding this strategy means recognizing it as part of a comprehensive colonial project.

Unlike traditional temporary military occupations, settler colonialism aims for permanent control through the erasure of the original existence. The barriers, wall, and settlements are not merely security tools, but mechanisms of control aimed at suffocating Palestinian national aspirations. Hence, the insistence of Palestinians on stating that their struggle is not only for land, but for dignity, equality, and recognition of their humanity.

International law recognizes