While we should not regard it as a “historical moment” or a “game changer”, the recognition does have the potential to help Palestinians lead us into a different future.

A repost from 26 September 2025.

In the past, I was quite sceptical about the recognition of Palestine, as it seemed that those engaged in the conversation were referring only to parts of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as the state of Palestine, and to an autonomous rule by a body such as the Palestinian Authority, without proper sovereignty: a Bantustan Palestine. Such recognition could have created the wrong impression that the so-called conflict in Palestine had been successfully resolved.

Many of the heads of government and their foreign offices that speak on recognition today still refer to this kind of Palestine. So, should we be more supportive of this move right now? I would suggest that it should be approached in a more nuanced way at this particular historical moment, when the genocide continues.

It is not surprising that no one in Gaza drew any hope, inspiration or satisfaction from this declaration. It was only in Ramallah and among certain sections of the solidarity movement that it was celebrated as a huge achievement.

The governments that recognised Palestine associate it directly with the obsolete and long-dead two-state solution – a formula that is impractical, immoral and based on injustice from the moment it was conceived as a “solution".

And yet, there are potential and more positive dynamics that could be triggered by this current global........

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