Recognition for a Hamas State

Hamas doesn’t want a two-state solution. It wants a one-state solution where there is one Palestin­ian state, from the “river to the sea”, and no Jews, no Is­rael. But the terrorist outfit is cheering the UK, France, Canada, Australia, et al rec­ognising a Palestinian state because it knows it is being rewarded for the October 7, 2023 massacre. Hamas has even said so. European and other leaders have put the cart before the horse by recognising Palestinian statehood before bring­ing about peace. It’s ironic because French President Emmanuel Macron was the one who had called anti-Zionism the new anti-Semitism. Now he says there is no Hamas in Gaza. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer believes the recognition will revive peace and the two-state solution. Unfathomable logic. How does recognis­ing a state revive hopes for the existence of that very state? Palestinian statehood was already recognised by almost 150 of the UN’s 193 members before this, and it had made no difference. On the ground, support for the two-state roadmap has faded on both sides since the 1990s and 2000s. The threat of sanctions implied in the recognition will, in fact, harden public opinion in Israel and make the Netanyahu government more intransigent.

 Losing the United Nations?

US President Donald Trump told some truths to the United Nations. Unfor­tunately, some of those were his truths alone. Here’s where Trump can’t be faulted: yes, the UN often creates more prob­lems and solves none. In end­ing conflicts, the UN is a fail­ure. Look at Ukraine or Gaza. In geopolitics, it’s often blind. Look at China’s rampage in its maritime neighbourhood. But then the US absented itself from the climate summit the day after Trump spoke and China took centrestage, with Xi Jinping not only reiterat­ing Beijing’s commitments to renewables and energy transition but also castigating the unnamed US for jeopardis­ing the fight against climate change. Trump’s U-turn on American commitments and the withdrawal from the Paris Agreement have not, however, deterred Europe or Asia from sticking to the path of clean energy. As the UN celebrates its 80th birthday, Trump called out its increasing irrelevance. But for Trump, that would still be true. Now, it’s quite possible that the UN would forge ahead, or blunder on, without the US. China could threaten to fund it if America won’t. There’s enough geopolitical heft brought by Russia, India, and the EU. That’s more food for thought in Washington than the “triple sabotage” of teleprompter, escalator, and audio.

Drones over Denmark

Multiple drones over several airports in Denmark can’t be coincidence or accident. The Danish authorities are right to say a “professional actor” is involved. But they haven’t found evidence of Russian involvement yet, despite the recent incursions into Polish and Estonian airspace. After Copenhagen closed its airport earlier this week over a drone incident, Aalborg airport was closed on Thursday while several other smaller airports reported drone incursions. They were not shot down owing to concerns about public safety. But that’s the dilemma: drones are cheap to launch but difficult to bring down safely. Defence against drones can become a head­ache beyond NATO.

Donald TrumpEmmanuel MacrongeopoliticsGlobetrotterHamasKeirnation recognition