Political solution without Palestinian statehood is 'cynical and illegal', says ICJ lawyer

There needs to be 'two states' to be part of a two-state solution, says Ardi Imseis

A Palestinian flag waved during a demonstration to support Palestinians and to demand for a ceasefire in Paris on June 8, 2024. AFP

With France saying it will recognise Palestine in September, making it the first G7 nation to do so, other countries such as the UK and Germany, which are holding out, have called for a political solution to the Palestine issue.

That two-state solution between Israel and Palestine, however, cannot be reached without recognising Palestine as a state, Ardi Imseis, a professor of law at Queen's University in Canada, told The National.

Mr Imseis is a former UN official and has represented states before the International Court of Justice, which last year found Israel to be under an obligation to end its unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory and make reparations for the damage caused.

"Recognition is a political prerogative of states," he said.

They can urge for a political resolution to the problem without recognising one or the other states, Mr Imseis said, although that "does not make sense".

"This is because if you have a two-state solution, one would assume you would need to have two states be part of that solution," he said.

Under international law, the Palestinian people have the right to self-determination in a state of their own.

"This right is peremptory and inalienable," he said. The international community has an obligation to help Palestinians realise that right, he added.

"However, if states make the emergence of a Palestinian state contingent on successful negotiations with Israel, then, in effect, that places Israel in a position of holding a veto power over the exercise by the Palestinian people of their right of self-determination," he said.

"It's a cyclical, cynical and ultimately illegal policy."

Mr Imseis said that Israel was a "bad faith illegal occupier" with no intention to allow the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Following France's announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at French President Emmanuel Macron and said that a Palestinian state would create a "launch pad to annihilate Israel".

France, the US and the UK are three of the five members of the UN Security Council with veto power, if and when the next vote comes to admit the state of Palestine to UN membership.

The US used its veto the last time such a vote took place, on April 18, 2024.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is under increasing pressure from 220 Members of Parliament who wrote to him urging him to recognise a Palestinian state, said he does support the move.

But, he said, it should be part of a "wider plan" which results in security for Palestinians and Israelis.

At least 140 out of the world's 193 members of the UN General Assembly recognise Palestine as a state.

In 2012, the General Assembly gave Palestine non-member observer state status.

"That means, that within the UN system, the state of Palestine already exists," Mr Imseis said.