The Partition Plan for Palestine, known officially as Resolution 181, was one of the earliest acts of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), passed in 1947. The Assembly was very different then, with just 57 members, compared to 193 today. The plan, however, which recommended the creation of two states – one Arab, one Jewish – to replace British Mandate Palestine, was similar in many respects to what advocates of peace in that territory now call for today. It was, in fact, the first formal attempt at consensus-building around a two-state solution on the global stage.
It never came to pass. Instead, a war to establish the State of Israel drove out tens of thousands of Palestinians, drew failed interventions from neighbouring Arab states and set the stage for a campaign of Israeli expansionism that has continued largely unabated ever since.
Seventy-eight years later, Palestine’s sovereignty, alongside Israel’s, is featuring heavily at UNGA again, as several major western countries plan to use the forum to officially recognise Palestinian statehood. France was among the first to announce its intention to do so, earlier in the year. On Sunday, Canada became the first G7 nation to recognise a Palestinian state, followed almost immediately by both Australia and the UK. In a joint statement, the Australian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister said the move was part of a “co-ordinated effort” with Canada and the UK, and followed “direct undertakings” from Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, to hold elections and carry out other governance reforms.
It puts much-needed wind in the sails of the two-state solution, which lately has felt even to many of its supporters to be dead in the water. Israel militarily occupies the bulk of the two territories intended to constitute a Palestinian state. In the West Bank, it allows – and often facilitates – illegal Jewish settlements. In Gaza, it is nearly two years into a war many international experts warn is likely to be a genocide.
The political appetite in Israel for enabling Palestinian statehood is virtually non-existent. The two-state solution is much more widely supported among Palestinians, but that matters little without Israeli buy-in.
The sudden push for recognition among major western powers – with important hold-outs, like the US and Germany – is the result of their horror at the string of atrocities Israel has visited upon Gaza. It is unlikely to have come about without the dual efforts of Saudi Arabia and France, who held a joint conference to try to revive the two-state solution in July.
Despite the significant weight these two countries throw behind the cause, the remaining challenges are immense and indeed seem to be growing. Washington often acts as a diplomatic obstacle to Palestinian sovereignty. At times it actively undermines it. The US State Department has, in a rejection of long-standing convention, denied the necessary visas for Mr Abbas and his team to attend this year’s UNGA. It has also put sanctions on officials from the International Criminal Court for investigating Israel’s alleged crimes. And Israel, emboldened by American support, has approved new settlements in the West Bank. In Gaza, it has not winded down but rather doubled down – having recently launched an operation to occupy the territory’s largest city for the long term.
On Friday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged countries who want to recognise Palestine not to “feel intimidated by the risk of retaliation”. It was a shocking indication of how fraught the atmosphere is. But Mr Guterres is right; whatever the risk countries face for taking a stand, the risk endured every day by Palestinians under Israeli encroachment and bombardment is greater. The longer it takes for the world to recognise a Palestinian state, the less recognisable Palestine itself is set to become.
Leaders arrive ahead of UNGA's General Debate - in pictures
