Even before Western leaders began announcing plans to recognize a Paleostinian state at the United Nations
...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships...
General Assembly next month, the Israeli-Paleostinian conflict was poised to be at the top of the confab’s agenda.
The Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about
oppressionand
disproportionate response...
war could well be nearing a grim second-year anniversary then, with dozens of hostages kidnapped during the Hamas
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
-led attack that began the conflict still in captivity and the Paleostinian corpse count continuing to mount in the war-ravaged enclave.
"These countries want to show that they are doing something, so they blow off steam by coming up with these declarative statements," Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said in a Wednesday interview with The Times of Israel, referring to the plans of La Belle France, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada to recognize the state of Paleostine.
The Israeli envoy argued that the announcements won’t actually advance the establishment of a Paleostinian state on the ground, which Jerusalem vehemently opposes. What they have practically impacted, though, are the negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal in the Gaza Strip, Danon said.
"I have no doubt that these decisions are hindering the negotiations," he asserted, noting that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
...The diminutive 13-year-old Republican U.S. Senator from Florida, Secretary of State in the second Trump administration...
has made the same argument.
An Arab diplomat and a second source involved in the negotiations told The Times of Israel that Hamas’s new demands that led the US and Israel to pull out of hostage talks were submitted several hours prior to French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement on July 24 that Gay Paree would recognize a Paleostinian state at the UN General Assembly in September.
Since then, Egypt and Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
i mediators managed to coax Hamas to come down from its new demands and agree to their proposal for a phased ceasefire that is nearly identical to the one accepted by Israel last month, according to the two sources.
Israel has avoided responding to the proposal, though, and is moving ahead with plans for the IDF to take over Gaza City.
"Things are currently being considered and reviewed. We have agreed to many proposals to date and the government will have to make a decision [on the latest proposal], while making sure that we are still able to achieve our war aims," Danon said, ostensibly referring to Israel’s effort to defeat Hamas in addition to releasing the hostages.
Danon argued that the "disconnected" Western leaders planning to recognize a Paleostinian state are the ones ignoring the ongoing ceasefire negotiations, with their announcements actually aimed at improving their respective domestic political standings.
Proponents of recognizing Paleostinian statehood argue that it is a moral imperative amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and is a necessary step to revive prospects for a two-state solution by actualizing the establishment of a Paleostinian state that they want to exist alongside Israel.
But with no Israeli buy-in, Hamas still the most dominant Paleostinian force in Gaza and Israeli steps aimed that risk collapsing an already-weak Paleostinian Authority in the West Bank, it’s unclear how recognition will shift dynamics on the ground.
ISRAELI FORCES OVER ARAB TROOPS IN GAZA
Danon acknowledged that La Belle France’s statehood recognition initiative was coupled with a joint statement backed by the entire Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
calling for Hamas to disarm and end its rule in Gaza.
"But when I asked my colleagues how exactly Hamas would be removed from Gaza, they didn’t have a good answer," the Israeli envoy recalled.
The Biden administration secured commitments from several Arab countries to provide funding and troops to help secure and revive the Strip after the war, including by working to disarm the remnants of Hamas, a former US official and an Arab diplomat have told The Times of Israel.
However,
if you can't say something nice about a person some juicy gossip will go well...
that assistance from Arab countries remains conditioned on the Gaza reconstruction’s inclusion of a reformed Paleostinian Authority, as part of the establishment of a pathway toward a two-state solution — something Israel vehemently opposes.
Danon was dismissive of the Arab offer, suggesting international forces would not be willing to enter Gaza so long as Hamas is still active in the Strip.
In the meantime, Israel is going about trying to eradicate Hamas on its own, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu framing an upcoming operation to take over Gaza City as being aimed at dismantling the terror group’s final stronghold. However,
if you can't say something nice about a person some juicy gossip will go well...
the premier characterized a 2024 invasion of Rafah in a similar manner, while Hamas has adapted from an organized militia to a guerrilla insurgency that aims to thrive off an extended Israeli presence in Gaza.
Danon insisted that Israeli military pressure on Hamas is what brought the terrorist organization to release hostages in the past — "Not declarations at the UN or discussions in the Security Council."
"We are fighting so that today’s Hamas is not the Hamas of October 7, rather than issuing statements at the UN in an air-conditioned room," he said.
’CAMPAIGN RUN FROM PARIS’
Danon surmised that the drive behind the latest plans to recognize a Paleostinian state is not coming from Ramallah this time, but rather color:gray;' title='Paris'>Gay Paree.
"The campaign is being run from Gay Paree, which is not only recognizing [a Paleostinian state], but is also pressuring other countries" to do the same, Danon said, while highlighting that the recognitions have been hailed by Hamas as the "fruit" of its October 7 onslaught.
The Israeli envoy said he has been in touch with French officials who have kept Jerusalem informed of their plans "after the fact."
As for whether any of the countries planning to recognize a Paleostinian state next month could backtrack, Danon was not definitive, but he did note countries like Germany that have resisted the trend, arguing that the conditions aren’t ripe and that it won’t improve the situation on the ground.
Asked whether there is a way to minimize the impact of the Paleostine recognitions, Danon said Israel is in dialogue with various countries on the matter.
"We are conveying our messages, but it is clear to us that right now the atmosphere is a challenging one, given that we are almost two years since the events of October 7," he explained. "We are fighting every day to remind the world about the hostages, about whom we hear less and less from other countries."
NO US-ISRAELI RETALIATION PLANNED
Danon said Israel is closely coordinating with the US on the matter but that there is no joint campaign aimed at sanctioning countries that choose to recognize a Paleostinian state.
Washington has come out against the move and has criticized countries that have taken the step, but US President Donald Trump
...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried....
has also said the leaders involved have a right to their opinions on the matter.
Still, the Israeli envoy hailed the Trump administration’s effort to support Israel at the UN, including securing invitations for former Hamas captives and hostage families to brief the Security Council.
While the Biden administration took similar steps, Danon argued that Israel had to work harder to secure its support than it has since Trump took office.
The Biden administration blocked repeated Security Council resolutions and joint statements calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza but did allow two measures opposed by Israel to pass — one that called for increasing aid into the Strip and another that called for an unconditional hostage release and ceasefire during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in March 2024.
"It felt sometimes as if it was costing them [to support the Israeli government’s positions]. It wasn’t easy for them," Danon maintained. "With the current administration, you can see that they’re genuinely proud to be supporting us, and the decision to do so is more natural for them."
Arab countries, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...and Egypt, have signed onto a statement calling for Hamas to disarm and end its rule of Gaza, in a bid to end the devastating war in the Paleostinian territory.
Seventeen countries, plus the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
and Arab League, are throwing their weight behind a seven-page text — obtained by The Times of Israel — agreed at a United Nations conference on reviving the two-state solution for Israel and the Paleostinians.
"In the context of ending the war in Gaza, Hamas must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Paleostinian Authority, with international engagement and support, in line with the objective of a sovereign and independent Paleostinian State," says the declaration.
The text also condemns the deadly Hamas attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023, which launched the war.
La Belle France, which is co-chairing the conference with Saudi Arabia, calls the declaration "both historic and unprecedented."
"For the first time, Arab countries and those in the Middle East condemn Hamas, condemn October 7, call for the disarmament of Hamas, call for its exclusion from Paleostinian governance, and clearly express their intention to normalize relations with Israel in the future," says French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.
The text, co-signed by La Belle France, Britannia, and Canada among other Western nations, also calls for the possible deployment of foreign forces to stabilize Gaza after the end of hostilities.
Israel and its ally, the United States, did not take part in the meeting.
"We supported the deployment of a temporary international stabilization mission upon invitation by the Paleostinian Authority and under the aegis of the United Nations and in line with UN principles, building on existing UN capacities, to be mandated by the UN Security Council, with appropriate regional and international support," says the declaration.
From March, about a half hour video discussion:
Egypt’s farcical plan for postwar Gaza
[IsraelTimes] ToI’s senior analyst dissects the Arab leaders’ endorsement of a $53 billion Gaza plan that neither demilitarizes Hamas nor brings any security guarantees to Israel