SCHNEIDER STATEMENT ON SEVERAL NATIONS FORMALLY RECOGNIZING THE STATE OF PALESTINE
LINCOLNSHIRE, IL – Rep. Brad Schneider (IL-10), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and co-founder and co-chair of the House Abraham Accords Caucus, released the following statement in response to Australia, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and six other countries formally recognizing the State of Palestine:
“I am a lifelong believer in the legitimacy of the national aspirations of both the Israeli and the Palestinian people. That is why I must unequivocally condemn the premature, misguided, and unhelpful decisions this week by our allies Australia, Canada, France, the United Kingdom and six other countries to formally recognize the State of Palestine.
“We all want the war in Gaza to end, the hostages held by Hamas returned to their families, and humanitarian aid surged to the people of Gaza so they can finally begin to rebuild their lives and their communities, free from the reign of terror of Hamas and the threat of war with Israel. Extreme pressure must be placed on Hamas to release the hostages and on all parties to agree to stop the fighting and allow both the Palestinian and Israeli peoples to heal and move forward with their lives.
“But, at this moment, as Hamas continues to hold 48 hostages and refuses to surrender control over Gaza, unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state is too easily seen as a reward for terrorism. Furthermore, unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, outside the context of direct negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis, offers little more than a political cudgel against Israel.
“In addition, rather than encouraging Israel to accept a ceasefire, to develop a plan for the day after in Gaza, to suspend actions that undermine the status quo in the West Bank, and to engage with the Palestinians in seeking a path to a future peace, unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state has the unintended effect of legitimizing Israel’s unilateral moves. Extremists in Israel will use these actions to tell Israelis they are alone in the world, while increasing their demands for unilateral annexation of the West Bank and Gaza.
“As much as our allies might wish otherwise, a secure and successful Palestinian state cannot be created by simple decree. As former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad used to say, Palestine must first be built before it can be recognized. Building strong Palestinian institutions of governance would both strengthen the Authority’s hand in direct negotiations and improve the material lives of Palestinians.
“I remain firm in my conviction that peace is possible, though likely distant. It will take work. It will take time. And it will certainly require perseverance and resistance against those who prefer continued chaos and violence to real compromise and commitment to peace.
“Unfortunately, peace will not be brought closer for either Palestinians or Israelis by the actions of our allies. The harsh reality is that meeting Israeli unilateralism with Palestinian unilateralism is not the answer to reckless leadership in Jerusalem, feckless leadership in Ramallah, and inconsistent leadership from the United States. And sadly, any positive role Britain, France, Canada, or Australia could have played to advance regional security has been diminished.
“Our allies, in concert with the U.S., would be more productive working together with the Palestinians towards building credible, incorruptible, and trusted institutions of governance. They should also work with our Arab allies in a unified effort to defeat the enemies of peace --including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the regime in Iran -- and clear the path for Palestinians and Israelis to live together in mutual recognition, security, peace, and prosperity.”
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