Ready for a ‘State of Palestine’

French President Emmanuel Macron gave the first announcement on July 24. He wrote on social media: “Consistent with its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognize the State of Palestine.” On July 29, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer followed suit: “I can confirm the [United Kingdom] will recognize the State of Palestine by the United Nations General Assembly in September.” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on July 30: “Canada intends to recognize the State of Palestine.”

Most countries recognize a “State of Palestine.” But so far, the big exceptions include the United States, most of Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea. France is the first country belonging to the Group of Seven to make this move. With the UK and Canada following France’s lead, Israel is finding itself isolated.

Some of these countries have given themselves convenient cop-outs. Starmer indicated he may change his mind if it becomes clear Hamas doesn’t want to end the war (as if almost two years of fighting don’t prove that). Carney put conditions on the Palestinian Authority (PA): Hold free and fair elections, demilitarize, and exclude Hamas from government. But all Carney has asked is that the PA pledge such reforms, which it has done for 20 years with no fruits.

Starmer put conditions on Israel. He said he will hold off if “the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, agree to a ceasefire, and commit to a long-term, sustainable peace, reviving the prospect of a two-state solution.”

Starmer began his announcement by saying, “The hostages [Hamas kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023] are still being held today.” If Israel and Hamas entered a ceasefire, Hamas would have to release the last few hostages. Starmer gave Hamas incentive to not release the hostages and not agree to a ceasefire.

Unless outside factors intervene, Hamas now has good reason not to reach a deal.

Does Palestine Count as a State?

Cambridge Dictionary sums up the general definition of a “sovereign state”: “an area of land with fixed borders that has full control over its own government and laws and is not controlled by any other country.”

Palestine doesn’t qualify under these criteria:

• Palestine doesn’t have fixed borders. Part of the West Bank, labeled as “Area C” under the Oslo Accords, is under both Israeli military and civilian control, and per the Oslo Accords was meant to be part of a land swap between Israel and the Palestinians. What particular land is to be swapped, if any, hasn’t been settled for decades.
• Palestine doesn’t have full control over its own government. Since 2007, the PA has held no authority over Gaza. After a brief civil war, Hamas replaced it and is still in charge of the enclave. Israel controls parts of the West Bank to varying degrees. Even in territory PA President Mahmoud Abbas is nominally in control of, terrorist groups like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have usurped control in cities like Jenin and Nablus.
• The PA doesn’t even control its own laws. The 89-year-old Abbas won the election in 2005 for a four-year term. In 2009, the Palestinian Liberation Organization—a separate organization—extended his term indefinitely. The PA hasn’t had another election since.

Unrecognized countries like Taiwan and Somaliland qualify under this definition better than Palestine does. The latest decisions aren’t about acknowledging Palestinian statehood, because Palestine doesn’t have statehood. What then are they about?

Surrendering to Evil

The speed at which these three countries made their announcements suggests the leadership was eager for this opportunity. They probably would have done it long ago if it weren’t for pressure from the United States not to do so.

Sources speaking to Politico indicated France coordinated its decision with the UK and Canada: “Macron … turned to G7 nations and European partners to regain the initiative. If several countries joined Paris, a nuclear power and permanent member of the UN Security Council, Israel could be forced to listen.” A former British diplomat told Politico: “He calculated the UK would come in the same direction.”

Before Starmer made his announcement, media leaks suggested he was going to recognize a State of Palestine. U.S. President Donald Trump was in Scotland at the time. For decades, the U.S. has been the one major power generally stopping the West from recognizing a Palestinian state. But when media asked for his thoughts on the rumors, President Trump responded: “I’m not going to take a position. I don’t mind him taking a position.”

Starmer and Carney evidently took that as their cue to move forward. The U.S. government has since lambasted both countries. President Trump suggested this would factor into Canadian trade negotiations. Canada now faces 35 percent tariffs in trade with the U.S. But the damage has already been done.

There are some domestic considerations to factor in. British Muslims are a massive voting bloc for Starmer’s Labour Party. Labour is sinking in the polls right now; Starmer could have calculated recognizing Palestine would be a cheap way to shore up his base.

But these countries know the PA won’t reform in any meaningful way. They know forcing Israel to make a peace deal will give Hamas time to regroup and start a fresh slaughter of Jews in the near future. They know this decision will only lead to more bloodshed not too long from now.

Over the weekend, Hamas released videos of two Israeli hostages it still has in captivity, Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David. Almost two years after abducting them, the two hostages look like living skeletons, shells of their former selves. Both were in the tunnels under Gaza. David was digging a hole he said would be his grave, as the unemaciated arm of his well-fed captor reached in front of the camera. Braslavski said he couldn’t walk anymore; every word seeping from his lips was mixed with the tears of a man who has been broken.

It is evil people like this—the spiritual successors of Heinrich Himmler and the SS—that Macron, Starmer and Carney are aiding and abetting. They can see this evil on their own televisions. Yet this isn’t stopping them. Whether because of callous indifference or pandering to voters, they are forcing Israel to sign its own death warrant and set the Middle East up for another Holocaust. And they can’t hide behind ignorance.

As analyst Melanie Phillips wrote, it doesn’t matter what excuse men like Starmer use. “Whether he is kowtowing to Britain’s increasingly powerful Muslim bloc or to his own hard left is irrelevant. Just as he campaigned for the hard-left Jeremy Corbyn to become prime minister at the last general election while ostensibly holding his nose, he really believes he is being principled and decent while plumbing to the depths of moral bankruptcy.”

“This is not just hypocrisy,” she continued. “Not just moral blindness. He and his wretched Labour Party are now a lethal threat to civilized values. Today’s accomplices to barbarism aren’t dressed in jackboots or the shades and braid of a junta generalissimo. They wear the suit and earnest spectacles of a human rights lawyer.”

What Now?

France, the UK and Canada have not been Israel’s biggest supporters for several decades now. But this wasn’t always the case. The State of Israel exists today because of the Balfour Declaration, a promise the British government made to carve a Jewish state out of land then controlled by the Ottoman Empire in World War i. Britain and France went to war together with Israel against Egypt in the 1956 Suez Crisis. France helped Israel set up its nuclear program. Canadian Leader of the Opposition Andrew Scheer made recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital a campaign pledge in 2019.

Turning from some of Israel’s closest allies to among its harshest critics may seem surprising. But it aligns with Bible prophecy.

Anciently, God gave great promises to the patriarch Abraham, recorded in Genesis 12:1-3. Herbert W. Armstrong wrote in his landmark book The United States and Britain in Prophecy:

And in like manner there were two phases to the promises God made to Abraham—the one purely material and national; the other spiritual and individual. The spiritual promise of the Messiah, and of salvation through Him, is well known by the most superficial Bible students. They know that God gave the spiritual promise to Abraham of Christ to be born as Abraham’s descendant—and that salvation comes to us through Christ. …

Notice now again how God first called Abram, and the twofold nature of His promises: “Now the [Eternal] had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation … and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3).

Notice the twofold promise: 1) “I will make of thee a great nation”—the national, material promise that his flesh-born children should become a great nation—a promise of race; 2) “… and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed”—the spiritual promise of grace. This same promise is repeated in Genesis 22:18: “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed ….” This particular “one seed” refers to Christ, as plainly affirmed in Galatians 3:8, 16.

God fulfilled this promise of grace through the Jewish people—the lineage Jesus Christ came from (Hebrews 7:14). But the first promise was passed down to Abraham’s great-great-grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh (Genesis 48:14-20). Mr. Armstrong proved in The United States and Britain in Prophecy that this promise was fulfilled through Ephraim and Manasseh’s descendants, the British and American peoples. This includes Commonwealth countries, like Canada.

France is descended from another tribe of Israel: Reuben. Reuben disqualified his descendants from inheriting the promise of being the great nation of Genesis 12. Yet Genesis 49:3 shows Reuben would still be blessed with a measure of national power and greatness. Canada also has heavy French influence.

In other words, Israel, Britain, Canada and France are brother nations linked by a common biblical heritage. Yet they aren’t acting like brothers. At the very least, the rest of the family is ganging up against the Jews.

God promised His people great national blessings if they would obey His commands. He also promised curses for disobedience. (The United States and Britain in Prophecy covers this in detail.) Some of these curses include: “… [T]hey shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm: Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his [God’s] anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still” (Isaiah 9:20-21). And again: “Then I [God] cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah [the Jewish people today] and Israel [referring to the other tribes, principally Ephraim and Manasseh]” (Zechariah 11:14).

We are seeing this brotherhood being broken.

Other prophecies show the Jews will turn to another nation for help: Germany, mentioned in Hosea 5:13 under its ancient name Assyria. Germany hasn’t recognized Palestine as a state. Could it be that the State of Israel turns to Germany because every other country has become hostile?

Bible prophecy shows that Judah’s trust in Germany will lead to a worse attack than what it faces from its brother nations. But God also reveals His plans to save Israel and unite the brother tribes.

To learn more, request a free copy of The United States and Britain in Prophecy.