Welcome, but behind the curve. That is the summary of the coordinated recognition of a Palestinian state by Canada, Australia and Britain. The emphatic gesture is a historical moment where the record is not written, but corrected. Palestinian statehood has always existed, and recognising that fact confers credibility on the recognisers, and not the Palestinian claim to their inalienable rights.
As part of the shifting tide against Israel, even in the United States, recognition of a Palestinian state enshrines what the Israeli state seems committed to erasing once and for all – the legitimate claim of Palestinians to their own land. Naming and insisting on Palestinian statehood is vital. As the activist Arab Barghouthi told the Guardian last week, the recognition protects the idea of a Palestinian state, because the Israeli government is “bragging about the fact that they are killing the idea of a Palestinian state. And diplomatically, when countries like Britain and France and Canada recognise Palestine, that means something.”
