FDD | Sept 21, 2025
Latest Developments
- Seeking to Revive Two-State Solution: The United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia announced the formal recognition of a Palestinian state ahead of the 80th United Nations General Assembly in the coming week. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the decision was meant “to revive the hope of peace and a two-state solution,” caveating the recognition by claiming that Hamas can have no future role in a Palestinian government. In his announcement, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney accused Israel of “working methodically to prevent the prospect of a Palestinian state from ever being established.” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that the recognition “reflects Australia’s longstanding commitment to a two-state solution, which has always been the only path to enduring peace and security for the Israeli and the Palestinian peoples.”
- Hamas Praises ‘Step’ While Threatening Hostages: Senior Hamas leader Husam Badran called the recognition “a step in the right direction, even if it came late,” while telling The New York Times that he rejected Starmer’s demand that Hamas have no role in a future Palestinian state. On September 20, Hamas released a “parting image” with the headshots of its 48 hostages — 20 of whom are believed to still be alive. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas praised Starmer’s statements as a “necessary step toward achieving a just and lasting peace.” France, Belgium, Portugal, and Malta have also declared their intention to recognize a Palestinian state during the General Assembly.
- Recognition Thwarts Efforts to Return Hostages: The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents the hostages held captive in Gaza and their families, condemned the “unconditional recognition of a Palestinian state,” saying that offering “such significant political rewards without securing the return of all 48 of our loved ones represents a catastrophic failure of political, moral, and diplomatic leadership that will severely damage efforts to bring them all home.” In Canada, the families of eight Canadians killed by Hamas stated that Carney’s decision “emboldens Hamas, legitimizes their barbarism, and sends a devastating message to terror victims everywhere: that their suffering can be brushed aside for political theatre.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed an Israeli response, saying that the declarations are meant to “endanger [Israel’s] existence and constitute an absurd reward for terror,” while the leader of the centrist Blue and White National Unity Party Benny Gantz wrote on X, that “maximum pressure must be applied to Hamas to relinquish power and return the hostages before anything else.”
FDD Expert Response
“Unpopular Western leaders are appeasing Islamists by rushing to recognize a Palestinian terror state. It won’t help Gazans under Hamas’s tyranny nor the Israeli hostages languishing in Hamas’s tunnels — but it will convince Hamas that terror works and that the West will keep rewarding it.” — Mark Dubowitz, CEO
“It is both counterproductive to peace and contradicts international law to recognize a Palestinian state with 40 percent of its population ruled by Hamas, whose charter defines its goal as Israel’s annihilation, that started this war with its brutal October 7 attack, and continues that war by refusing compromise, holding hostages, targeting Israeli civilians, and driving up Palestinian civilian casualties by using them as human shields.” — Orde Kittrie, Senior Fellow
“If you call yourself a Palestinian and live in a newly recognized state of Palestine, how can you still be a Palestinian refugee? You can’t be. Starmer and French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron have walked themselves into the end of UNRWA. The United States should respond accordingly.” — Richard Goldberg, Senior Advisor
“The United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada just rewarded Hamas’s strategy of maximizing Palestinian suffering for political gain. This may appeal to domestic audiences, but it will not make peace any more likely. Paper gains cannot brush over the Palestinian Authority’s promotion of violence, corruption, unpopularity, and lack of authority.” — David May, Research Manager and Senior Research Analyst
FDD Background and Analysis
“Palestine recognition would reward terrorism and contradict international law,” by Irwin Cotler and Orde Kittrie
“British and French Recognition of Palestine Will Reward Terrorism, Endanger European Security,” by Orde Kittrie
“‘Misguided And Ill-Timed’: UN General Assembly Approves Palestinian Statehood Resolution,” FDD Flash Brief
“Belgium to Recognize Palestinian State at Upcoming UN General Assembly,” FDD Flash Brief
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