Recognition of a Palestinian State: Take This Opportunity for Breakthrough in Gaza Crisis

Editorial

15:07 JST, September 24, 2025

This is a situation that was brought about by Israel continuing its indiscriminate attacks in defiance of repeated warnings from the international community. Israel should seriously consider the weight of having lost the support of many nations.

At the U.N. General Assembly in New York, a summit-level meeting was held with the aim of achieving a “two-state solution” in which Israel and Palestine coexist. France and other nations announced their recognition of a Palestinian state.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who cochaired the meeting, said, “We must do everything within our power to preserve the very possibility of a two-state solution, Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security.”

Prior to the meeting, other countries, including Britain and Canada, also declared their recognition. While about 150 countries already recognized a Palestinian state, France, Britain and Canada were the first among the Group of Seven advanced nations to do so.

Although Israel’s military attacks on the Palestinian territory of Gaza were triggered by terrorist acts by the Islamist group Hamas, they have now gone well beyond the scope of self-defense. Israel is obstructing food aid from the United Nations and other organizations, deliberately causing famine there.

France, Britain and other countries likely judged that further violently oppressive behavior cannot be tolerated and that pressure on Israel must be increased.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration has rejected coexistence with Palestine and is advancing actions to bring Gaza under Israel’s control. This month, Israel launched a full-scale ground operation to seize control of Gaza City, the central city in the territory.

The death toll from the Israeli military’s invasion of Gaza has exceeded 65,000. The U.N. Human Rights Council’s investigative commission has recognized the horrors in Gaza as “genocide.” It is egregious that Israel continues to escalate the crisis despite this.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration bears heavy responsibility for failing to halt Israel’s excessive actions and continuing its support. At a U.N. Security Council meeting this month, a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza received the support of 14 out of 15 member states, but it was voted down because the United States vetoed it.

For now, Japan has decided not to recognize a Palestinian state. It appears to have judged that doing so would have little effect on stopping Israel’s atrocities at the current stage. It likely also was concerned that the United States would oppose Japan’s action, which could negatively impact Japan-U.S. relations.

However, with even Britain — a nation sharing a “special relationship” with the United States — now recognizing a Palestinian state, Japan could give the impression of tacitly condoning Israel’s atrocities if it maintains its current position.

Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya has indicated that Japan will consider sanctions against Israel and future recognition of a Palestinian state. Japan needs to take specific measures to help break the crisis in Gaza. It also must more strongly urge Washington to work to break the crisis.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 24, 2025)