Monique Chemillier-Gendreau, professor emeritus at Paris Cité University and a specialist in international law and state theory, is an advisor to international courts. She is the author of Rendre impossible un Etat palestinien, l’objectif d’Israël depuis sa création (“Making a Palestinian State Impossible, Israel’s Objective Since Its Creation,” 2025). She breaks down the consequences of the recognition of the State of Palestine by several countries, including France, the United Kingdom, and Canada – all three members of the G7.

What could this new wave of recognition of Palestine change?

My first reaction is this: It is too late and too little; too late, because these new countries that have just recognized the State of Palestine have allowed Israel to systematically destroy, over decades, the foundations of that state. While the symbolic act of recognition will undoubtedly offer a sense of superficial satisfaction, it will not have much effect. It is too little, as many more actions are needed to fulfill the promises contained in all the commitments of international law toward the Palestinian people. Israel will only yield under pressure.

What kinds of actions do you have in mind?

For now, this recognition is of a phantom state. If we truly want to recognize a real Palestinian state, we must restore the concrete foundations of its existence. How do we identify a state? By certain elements: A viable territory, a population freely gathered, institutions exercising sovereign functions and a capital chosen independently. Yet, since its creation, Israel has worked to destroy all these elements, while other states have done nothing. However, what Israel has not been able to destroy is the Palestinian national consciousness. What the recognition of a Palestinian state pays tribute to is the persistence of this Palestinian national sentiment. It would be pointless, not to say deeply hypocritical, to acknowledge the legitimacy of this national feeling without taking steps to restore the concrete foundations that Israel stubbornly refuses to grant it.

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