Participants at an ongoing meeting of the top diplomats of G20 states achieved “virtual unanimity” on demanding the establishment of a state of “Palestine” carved out of Israel, host country Brazil declared on Thursday – in apparent disregard of the fact that both Israel and the government of Gaza, the terrorist organization Hamas, reject that proposal.
The “two-state solution” has been floated for decades with no significant progress on the issue. The United Nations has recognized “Palestine” as a state with observer status at the global forum since 2012. It is unclear what the borders of the U.N. recognized “Palestine” are but its representatives at the organization are the leaders of the Palestinian Authority, the widely reviled governing body of the West Bank.
The government of Israel has more aggressively opposed statehood for some territory designated as “Palestine” since October 7, since Hamas used its outpost in Gaza to invade Israel and conduct an unprecedented terrorist attack targeting residential communities, Israeli families, and civilian sites such as a music festival. Hamas terrorists – which reportedly included United Nations employees – killed an estimated 1,200 people, including children as young as babies, and engaged in acts of torture, gang rape, the desecration of corpses, and other atrocities.
Hamas – and its patrons in Iran – also enthusiastically reject the “two-state solution” on the grounds that Israel itself is illegitimate and should not exist. Hamas advocates for the Islamic conquest of Israel to turn the entire territory into a state of “Palestine.”
Despite this, the governments of the United States and Europe have elevated demands for the implementation of the “two-state solution.” In Rio de Janeiro on Thursday, the foreign policy head of the European Union, Josep Borrell, told reporters that every single participant supported the establishment of some form of state of “Palestine.”
People gather to stage a demonstration in support of Palestinians in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil on February 22, 2024. Protestors tried to approach the Marina da Gloria where the G20 meeting is taking place, but they were prevented by the Military Police. (Fabio Teixeira/Anadolu via Getty)
“Everybody here, everybody. I haven’t heard anyone against it. There was a strong request for a two-state solution. It is consensus among us,” Borrell said, according to Reuters. “There is a common denominator: there is not going to be peace … not going to be sustainable security for Israel unless the Palestinians have a clear political prospect to build their own state.”
Mauro Vieira, Brazil’s foreign minister, similarly asserted in public remarks that every participant in the conference wanted to carve a Palestinian state out of Israel, claiming “virtual unanimity for the two-state solution as the only possible solution.” He caveated that the use of the word “virtual” was just to clarify that some ministers attending did not address the issue at all, but all who did “voiced support.”
Brazil’s position as host of the G20 was marred by an unprecedented diplomatic crisis triggered last weekend by corrupt socialist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who told reporters during a visit to Ethiopia that Israel’s self-defense operations against Hamas in Gaza were comparable to the Holocaust. The state of Israel formally declared Lula persona non grata, banning him from Israeli territory.
Another nation with an unfortunate recent history of antisemitism, Turkey, expressed support for the “two-state solution” at the G20 minister meeting. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan used the meeting to demand more action to create a state of “Palestine,” according to Reuters, and to seek a “ceasefire” in Gaza that would allow Hamas to regroup. Turkey’s Islamist President Recep Tayyip Erdogan openly supports Hamas and has repeatedly said it is “not a terrorist organization,” while claiming Israel is a terrorist state.
Fidan also reportedly referred to Lula’s Holocaust comments as “admirable.”
American Secretary of State Antony Blinken also supported the “two-state solution,” reports indicate. The top American diplomat mentioned the creation of “a Palestinian state” on every stop during his recent trip to the Middle East this month, affirming Biden’s alleged “commitment” to the idea with Egypt and Qatar, as well as raising the issue in Israel.
Reports on Borrell, Vieira, Blinken, Fidan, and others supporting the “two-state solution” did not indicate that any of those involved specified where the borders of that state should be or who should govern it. Only Saudi Arabia has recently specified how its government wishes to see the establishment of a state of “Palestine” – run by the Palestinian Authority, containing both the West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
People gather to stage a demonstration in support of Palestinians, in the central area of the city, in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil on February 22, 2024.(Fabio Teixeira/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“The Palestinian Authority is capable, with the support of the international community, of controlling the West Bank and Gaza Strip,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said in an interview published Tuesday. “The Palestinian Authority has shown themselves incredibly capable and credible when it comes to issues of maintaining security in the West Bank.”
Polling shows wide rejection of the Palestinian Authority, and growing support for Hamas, among Palestinians. A poll published in Decenber by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) found that 75 percent of Palestinians living in the West Bank preferred Hamas as a governing entity to the West Bank, while only seven percent chose the Palestinian Authority.
Hamas has openly rejected a “two-state solution,” demanding “no compromise” on destroying Israel. Iran, the world’s premier state sponsor of terrorism and a top funder of Hamas, echoed that sentiment.
“Israel is occupying the Palestinian land, and we believe that a two-state solution will not help to resolve the Palestinian issue,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said in December.
“Talking about two states is over. Once Israel wants to enter Gaza, this issue is no longer relevant,” Iranian Expediency Council member Mohsen Rezaei declared that same month.