In the video: the activity of the collection unit 414 in Lev Khan Yunis.
31.01.24/dec
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken ordered the US State Department to prepare staff work that will examine the possibility of US and international recognition of the state of Palestine the day after the war in Gaza, two senior US administration officials said.
why is it important:
The fact that the US State Department is considering this possibility indicates a change in thinking within the Biden administration on an issue that is considered highly sensitive both internationally and politically domestically in the United States.
For decades, the policy of the United States has been to oppose the recognition of Palestine as a state - both bilaterally and in the UN institutions - and to make it clear that a Palestinian state will only be achieved through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Israel has been strongly opposed for years to any recognition of a Palestinian state by individual countries and by UN institutions.
Netanyahu and Blinken, January/Government Press Office, Kobi Gideon
reminder:
The US State Department conducted a similar review in the past, during President Obama's tenure, when the Palestinian Authority tried to obtain recognition of a Palestinian state through UN institutions.
At that time, the US State Department prepared a document with policy proposals on the subject of recognizing a Palestinian state, but it was not seriously discussed within the administration.
In 2012, the UN General Assembly voted in favor of accepting Palestine as an "observer" state in the UN - similar to the Vatican - without accepting it as a full member of the organization.
Behind the Scenes:
A senior American said that the war in Gaza and the efforts to find a diplomatic solution opened the way for a re-examination within the administration of many old paradigms in the policy of the United States towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
According to him, there are elements within the American administration who recommend changing policy and moving towards recognizing a Palestinian state as a first step in a renewed peace process and not as a last step that would be the result of negotiations between the parties.
There are several options for American action in this direction - ranging from a decision on American recognition of a Palestinian state, to a decision not to veto a decision in the Security Council to accept Palestine as a full member of the organization, to encouraging other countries in the West to recognize a Palestinian state.
The situation:
The American officials stated that examining the issue of recognizing a Palestinian state is only one of several issues in which Blinken asked the American State Department to conduct staff work and present him with policy recommendations.
In Lincoln, the US State Department asked to prepare proposals for what a "demilitarized Palestinian state" might look like based on various models from around the world, a senior US official said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed support for the establishment of a "demilitarized Palestinian state" several times between 2009 and 2015, but in recent years he has not repeated this support publicly.
A senior American noted that the examination of the issue is now being carried out to suggest ways in which the two-state solution can be implemented in a way that will guarantee Israel's security and not endanger it.
The American official noted that the White House is aware of the two headquarters works being carried out.
He emphasized that Lincoln has not yet approved a new policy and that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in the midst of formulating a wide menu of options.
A spokesman for the US State Department declined to comment.
A spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House said: "US policy for many years is that recognition of a Palestinian state should be the result of direct negotiations between the parties and not through unilateral recognition or through UN institutions.
This policy has not changed."
The big picture:
The thinking within the American administration regarding the recognition of a Palestinian state and the demilitarized Palestinian state issue is part of a broader diplomatic move to formulate an American political initiative for the day after the war in Gaza.
Such an initiative would be based on the efforts made by the administration before October 7 to obtain a package deal with Saudi Arabia that would also include a normalization agreement with Israel.
The administration's strategy now is to link such a normalization agreement with the creation of a path to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The Saudis have made it clear publicly and in quiet talks with the US since October 7 that any normalization agreement with Israel will be conditioned on creating an "irreversible path" to a Palestinian state.
Recognition of a Palestinian state by the United States and other Western countries or acceptance of the state of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations may to constitute an "irreversible path" of this kind.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said on Monday that Britain is considering recognizing a Palestinian state as part of an attempt to provide the Palestinians with a political horizon in the day after the war in Gaza.
"We and our allies are examining the issue of recognizing a Palestinian state, including in the UN... This could be one of the things that will help make this process irreversible," he said.
Why for the record:
Blinken will meet the Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer today in Washington and will discuss with him the situation in Gaza, the issue of the day after and the efforts to promote a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia.
Dermer met today at the White House with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan to discuss the same issues.
More on the same topic:
War of Iron Swords
War in Gaza
United States