Palestinian statehood condemned by Israeli officials brings a 'glimmer of hope' for some Palestinians

As Palestinians and much of the Arab and Muslim worlds praised the decision by several European countries to recognize Palestinian statehood, Israeli politicians across the political spectrum reacted with anger and spoke of retaliation.“You are giving a huge prize to terrorism,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a recorded address released Sunday night, as countries including the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia began to express their commitments to Palestinian statehood.

As Palestinians and much of the Arab and Muslim worlds praised the decision by several European countries to recognize Palestinian statehood, Israeli politicians across the political spectrum reacted with anger and spoke of retaliation.

“You are giving a huge prize to terrorism,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a recorded address released Sunday night, as countries including the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia began to express their commitments to Palestinian statehood. “It will not happen. There will be no Palestinian state west of the Jordan River.”

France formally recognized Palestinian statehood at a United Nations meeting on Monday.

The statehood acknowledgements were “a diplomatic disaster,” Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, a long-standing opponent of Netanyahu, posted on X on Sunday. He added that it was “a harmful step” and a “reward for terror.”

Though the fast-moving diplomatic events are mostly symbolic, the resentment across Israel’s political class shows just how isolated the Jewish state has become two years into its war with Hamas that has upended much of the Middle East.