Recognition of Palestine: Move Is Grave Warning Against Israel’s Inhumane Acts

Editorial

17:49 JST, August 18, 2025

France has announced that it will recognize Palestine as a state as early as September, and more countries are gradually moving toward aligning themselves with this decision.

This is quite simply a warning against Israel’s invasion of the Palestinian territory of Gaza and the worsening of the humanitarian situation there. France’s announcement should not merely be a political declaration, but rather serve as an opportunity to strengthen international pressure on Israel.

French President Emmanuel Macron explained that the recognition of Palestine as a state is aimed at stopping the war in Gaza and strongly urging Israel to resume humanitarian aid. Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have also announced similar moves.

Palestine has already been recognized as a state by more than 140 countries and has obtained the status of observer state at the United Nations. However, this is the first time that Britain, France and Canada, which are members of the Group of Seven advanced nations, have moved toward recognizing Palestine.

Since the Israeli military invaded Gaza in October 2023, it has continued attacks that go beyond the scope of self-defense, resulting in more than 60,000 deaths. It has blocked humanitarian aid from the United Nations and is shooting residents who gather at distribution points in search of food.

Britain and France, along with other countries, must have concluded that this situation cannot be ignored and that a more powerful message must be issued.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must accept the weight of this message and stop indiscriminate attacks in Gaza and fully resume U.N. aid activities.

The Israeli and Palestinian sides reached mutual recognition of each other in the 1993 Oslo Accord and mapped out a course toward a two-state solution in which the two sides coexist peacefully as independent countries.

However, differences remain unresolved over issues such as the boundary demarcation and how to define the status of Jerusalem, which is a holy site for Islam, Judaism and Christianity, leaving talks toward achieving solutions stalled for more than 10 years.

Israel is accelerating moves that contradict the two-state solution. It has expanded military operations, claiming to take control of the entire Gaza Strip. And in the Palestinian territory of the West Bank, Israel is condoning criminal acts by Jewish settlers who are taking land from Palestinians.

Israel’s actions are utterly inhumane, but simply recognizing Palestine as a state will not stop them. Japan has been cautious about recognizing Palestine out of consideration for the United States, which supports Israel. However, that does not mean it is acceptable to merely observe the situation.

Britain imposes sanctions on far-right Israeli ministers. There must be some options for Japan as well, such as implementing sanctions and suspending ministerial visits. The government needs to advance cooperation with Britain and France, among other countries, to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 18, 2025)