Biden Administration ‘Actively Pursuing’ Efforts To Recognize a Palestinian State, Upending Longstanding American Policy
The change marks a shift from the longstanding American policy of opposing the recognition of Palestine as a state both bilaterally and in UN institutions.
America is considering policy options to recognize a Palestinian state, a move that would mark an upheaval of longstanding American policy toward Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Secretary Blinken asked the Department of State to review policy options to recognize Palestine bilaterally and encourage other countries to do the same, two American officials told Axios on Wednesday. One option would be for America to refrain from using its veto to block the United Nations’ most powerful body, the Security Council, from admitting Palestine as a full UN member state.
“Yes, we are actively pursuing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with real security guarantees for Israel,” the state department spokesman, Mathew Miller, told reporters at Washington on Wednesday. “We support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, and we do a lot of work in the government to think about how to bring it about.”
The change marks a shift from the established American policy of opposing the recognition of Palestine as a state both bilaterally and in UN institutions. American leaders have for decades argued that direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority are the only means by which a Palestinian state should be created. Mr. Miller noted during his remarks, though, that “the vast majority of options never usually get implemented.”
So, too, has Israel for years opposed any recognition of a Palestinian state by individual countries and by UN institutions. Last week, Prime Minister Netanyahu said the nation needs to maintain “full security control” over the Gaza Strip when Israel’s war with Hamas comes to an end.
On Monday, the British foreign secretary, David Cameron, said that the United Kingdom is also weighing whether to recognize a new independent nation of Palestine to exist alongside Israel. At a London reception for Arab ambassadors, Mr. Cameron said the goal “is to give the Palestinian people a political horizon.”
Under President Obama, the state department did consider recognizing a Palestinian state after the UN General Assembly voted in favor of accepting Palestine as an “observer” state in 2012, similar to the Vatican. The United Nations did not accept it as a full member of the organization.
