Even before Western leaders began announcing plans to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly next month, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was poised to be at the top of the confab’s agenda.

The Gaza war could well be nearing a grim second anniversary then, with dozens of hostages abducted during the Hamas-led attack that began the conflict still in captivity and the Palestinian death toll continuing to mount in the war-ravaged enclave.

“These countries want to show that they are doing something, so they blow off steam by coming up with these declarative statements,” Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said in a Wednesday interview with The Times of Israel, referring to the plans of France, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada to recognize the state of Palestine.

The Israeli envoy argued that the announcements won’t actually advance the establishment of a Palestinian state on the ground, which Jerusalem vehemently opposes. What they have practically impacted, though, are the negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal in the Gaza Strip, Danon said.

“I have no doubt that these decisions are hindering the negotiations,” he asserted, noting that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has made the same argument.

An Arab diplomat and a second source involved in the negotiations told The Times of Israel that Hamas’s new demands that led the US and Israel to pull out of hostage talks were submitted several hours prior to French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement on July 24 that Paris would recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September.

Since then, Egypt and Qatari mediators managed to coax Hamas to come down from its new demands and agree to their proposal for a phased ceasefire that is nearly identical to the one accepted by Israel last month, according to the two sources.

Israel has avoided responding to the proposal, though, and is moving ahead with plans for the IDF to take over Gaza City.

“Things are currently being considered and reviewed. We have agreed to many proposals to date, and the government will have to make a decision [on the latest proposal], while making sure that we are still able to achieve our war aims,” Danon said, apparently referring to Israel’s effort to defeat Hamas in addition to releasing the hostages.

Danon argued that the “disconnected” Western leaders planning to recognize a Palestinian state are the ones ignoring the ongoing ceasefire negotiations, with their announcements actually aimed at improving their respective domestic political standings.

Proponents of recognizing Palestinian statehood argue that it is a moral imperative amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and is a necessary step to revive prospects for a two-state solution by actualizing the establishment of a Palestinian state that they want to exist alongside Israel.

But with no Israeli buy-in, with Hamas still the most dominant Palestinian force in Gaza and Israeli steps that risk collapsing an already-weak Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, it’s unclear how recognition will shift dynamics on the ground.

Danon acknowledged that France’s statehood recognition initiative was coupled with a joint statement backed by the entire Arab League

© The Times of Israel