A key impetus behind the UK’s Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s plan – following similar moves by France and Canada – to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September is the desire to revitalize the two-state solution as a viable diplomatic strategy, moving it beyond the symbolic gesture it has become since the collapse of the Oslo peace process a quarter-century ago.
A tour of the West Bank serves as a stark reminder of the physical barriers Israel has erected, solidifying its presence within the contested hills and valleys Palestinians envision for their future state.
The success of Israel’s ambitious national project, initiated shortly after the 1967 Middle East war, is evident in the proliferation of Jewish settlements now housing over 700,000 Israelis.
This endeavor, spanning nearly six decades and requiring billions in investment, has faced condemnation from both allies and adversaries, given that it violates international law prohibiting an occupying power from settling its citizens on occupied land.
Last year, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion deeming the entire occupation illegal.
Nevertheless, the government led by Benjamin Netanyahu seeks further settlement expansion.
In late May, Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich jointly announced plans to construct 22 new settlements in the West Bank.
Katz characterized this significant expansion, the largest in decades, as a “strategic move preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel and serving as a buffer against our enemies.”
He further asserted, “This is a Zionist, security, and national response – and a clear decision on the future of the country.”
Alongside Katz was Bezalel Smotrich, an ultra-nationalist leader residing in a West Bank settlement who believes the land was divinely granted to the Jewish people. In addition to his role as Finance Minister, Smotrich effectively governs the West Bank, wielding extensive planning authority.
Smotrich hailed the settlement expansion as a “once-in-a-generation decision,” declaring, “Next step sovereignty!”
Within Israel and the Palestinian territories, it is widely understood that “sovereignty,” as invoked by Smotrich and his allies, signifies annexation.
Smotrich advocates for exclusive Jewish control over the land and has openly discussed strategies for displacing Palestinians.
Settlements in varying stages of development dot the West Bank’s hilltops, ranging from established towns with mature infrastructure to nascent outposts populated by militant young settlers who often combine religious fervor with extreme Jewish nationalism, firearms, and, at times, deadly violence towards their Palestinian neighbors.
Data compiled by the UN and peace organizations indicate an increase in violent settler attacks against Palestinian communities since the October 7th attacks.
I visited Taybeh, a predominantly Christian village of approximately 1,500 residents, to assess the impact of this escalating violence.
Taybeh is a tranquil village that appears to have more houses than inhabitants. After nearly six decades of Israeli occupation, emigration has depleted Taybeh’s population, with more residents now living abroad than within the village itself.
Two nights prior to my visit, settlers infiltrated the village under cover of darkness, setting fire to Kamal Tayea’s car and attempting to break into his new home, situated within a development overlooking olive groves. The walls were defaced with Hebrew graffiti painted in red.
Kamal, a middle-aged man now questioning the wisdom of relocating his family to the village’s periphery, is installing a security camera system.
“We were very, very scared,” Kamal recounted. “I have children and an elderly mother. Our lives were threatened, and it was terrifying.”
I inquired whether the UK’s plan to recognize Palestine would alleviate his situation.
“I don’t think so. It’s a big step to have a superpower like Britain support us, but on the ground, it does not change much. Israel is not compliant with any international resolutions or laws.”
“It does not listen to any other country in the whole world.”
The following night, Jewish settlers raided neighboring Palestinian communities, torching vehicles and spraying graffiti. This transcends mere vandalism.
The settlers aim to displace Palestinians, and in some areas of the occupied territories, they have succeeded, forcing residents from remote villages to abandon their farms and stealing their livestock.
David Khoury, the 74-year-old Greek Orthodox priest who was born in Taybeh, told me in his church that the settlers who have threatened him and other residents are often armed.
“Yes, they have guns… they’ll use them if we argue with them. They want us out, they want us to leave.”
The priest remained resolute.
“We are here, since Jesus Christ, 2,000 years. Our roots are here. We can’t move. We will not move, even if we die here, we will not move from here… Palestine is inside our blood, how we can live without our blood?”
Ramallah, the de facto Palestinian capital of the West Bank, was within close proximity, but I was unable to visit in person. Due to potential delays and difficulties at Israeli checkpoints on the return journey to Jerusalem, I interviewed Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian delegation to the United Kingdom (effectively their ambassador in London), via Zoom. Zomlot, who was back home for the summer, expressed his delight at Britain’s plan to recognize Palestine.
“It is a sign that the UK and with it, the rest of the international community are really serious about the two-state solution. We are no longer in the business of the lip service that has lost us three decades. Actually, if you really seek two states, recognize the two states.”
“We see the recognition as the starting gun to a sprint towards implementing and establishing the state of Palestine and fulfilling the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.”
Zomlot was elated, asserting that Britain’s decision marked a significant first step and would have a tangible impact.
He added that history is a powerful undercurrent in this conflict, and Britain was finally atoning for its past injustices against Palestinians during its imperial rule from 1917 to 1948.
Zomlot was referring to the promises outlined in a brief, typewritten letter dated November 2, 1917, signed by Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour and addressed to Lord Rothschild, a prominent figure in Britain’s Jewish community. The letter expressed “sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations.”
Britain would “view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.”
This was followed by another pledge: “Nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine.”
Zomlot highlighted that the letter referred to the majority Palestinian Arabs without explicitly naming them, a point that continues to resonate 108 years later.
At the UN in New York this week, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy stated that Britain could be proud of its role in helping lay Israel’s foundations after 1917. However, he acknowledged that breaking the promise to Palestinians in the Balfour Declaration had caused “a historical injustice which continues to unfold.”
At the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, Simcha Rothman, an ultra-nationalist MP from the National Religious party, also referenced Britain’s imperial past in the Middle East. He argued that Britain and France had previously attempted to delineate borders when they seized the Middle East from the crumbling Ottoman Empire during World War I, and Britain could no longer act as an imperial power.
Like Benjamin Netanyahu and Bezalel Smotrich, his party leader, Rothman claimed that the plan to recognize Palestine rewarded Hamas terrorism. He rejected Starmer’s offer to postpone recognition if Israel agreed to a full ceasefire in Gaza and a revival of the two-state solution, among other conditions.
“He is threatening the state of Israel with punishment and thinks that’s the way to bring peace to the Middle East. He is not in a position to punish us, and it definitely will not bring peace.”
“And it’s against justice, history, religion, culture… he’s giving a huge reward for Yahya Sinwar [the Hamas leader who led the 7 October attacks and was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza last year].
“Wherever he is in hell today, he sees what Keir Starmer says – and says, ‘good partner’.”
Back in Taybeh, I had asked a group of prominent local citizens, who were sharing coffee with the mayor in his office, for their thoughts on the UK’s recognition plan.
One of them, a local businessman, responded: “Thank you Britain. But it’s too late.”
Top image: Getty Images
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