Announcements of Palestinian recognition by countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Portugal, along with repeated promises from Paris, may initially appear as a positive step. This move could, in the public eye, further isolate the Israeli regime and increase political pressure on Tel Aviv. However, a closer examination shows that these decisions are more symbolic than a reflection of real policy change. The same governments recognizing Palestine remain primary supporters of Israel’s war machine and overlook Tel Aviv’s occupation policies.

The reality is that Western countries are more concerned with managing domestic social pressure than with justice and the rights of the Palestinian people. Widespread street protests in European capitals against the Gaza war and civilian massacres have forced governments to take performative measures to temper public anger. From this perspective, Palestinian recognition functions more as a tactical instrument in Western domestic politics than as a genuine response to the demands of the Palestinian people.

A Clear Contradiction: From Arms Sales to Disarmament

A key point in this process is the obvious contradiction in Western positions. London and Paris, while speaking of the establishment of a Palestinian state, insist on the disarmament of resistance groups. The United Kingdom labels Hamas a “terrorist organization” in strong terms, and the Prime Minister has stated that there is no future for the group. France conditions practical recognition of Palestine on Hamas being removed from the political structure.

These stances come while the same countries remain among the main suppliers of arms to Israel. The contradiction between arming the occupiers and insisting on disarming the victims clearly shows that the West is not neutral and is, in effect, siding with the Israeli regime. Such policies neither lead to peace nor to the creation of an independent Palestinian state; they merely perpetuate the cycle of violence and exacerbate human suffering in Gaza and the West Bank.

Hidden Agendas Behind the Scenes

Evidence suggests that Western recognition of Palestine is primarily a political instrument rather than a principled action. Conditions such as the release of hostages, the deployment of international forces in Gaza, or the suspension of official relations until Israel’s demands are met all indicate that the West intends to use this issue as leverage against the resistance.

In fact, Israel’s military setbacks in Gaza and the army’s failure to achieve its declared objectives have prompted the West to seek political avenues to compensate for these shortcomings. Through diplomatic engineering, they aim to marginalize Palestinian resistance and restore Israel’s standing in regional calculations. This approach essentially shifts the battleground from military to political arenas without altering the West’s domineering and discriminatory logic.

From Diplomatic Gesture to Field Reality

One crucial point not to be overlooked is the role of resistance in shaping the scene. If some Western governments today are compelled to recognize Palestine, it is the result of the steadfastness of the people of Gaza and the heavy costs Israel has incurred due to their resistance. Without such resistance, these diplomatic changes would not even be conceivable.

Past experience has shown that relying on compromise and unilateral agreements only emboldens Israel to continue settlement expansion and the occupation of Palestinian lands. What can elevate recognition from symbolic to genuine are two factors: first, the resilience and deterrent capacity of the resistance; second, the intelligent use of independent legal and international mechanisms to compel the West to take concrete action. Only within this framework can there be hope that Palestinian recognition becomes a lasting reality rather than a fleeting political gesture.