FDD
Born dead: The New York Declaration for two states
Hussain Abdul-Hussain
August 3, 2025

…As of 2025, the original 700,000 Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA have grown to 5.9 million, still classified as refugees, though nearly five million have gained citizenship in other countries. Applying UNGA Resolution 194 to these 5.9 million, a process that Palestinians call the “right of return,” would effectively end Israel as a Jewish state. The two-state solution implicitly envisions a Jewish Israel and an Arab Palestine. Arab governments demand that Israel dismantle settlements and relocate approximately one million Jews from the West Bank and East Jerusalem to within the 1948 armistice line, creating a Jew-free Palestine. At the same time, Arabs insist that Israel accept UN General Assembly Resolution 194, which Palestinians interpret as granting a “right of return” for 5.9 million registered refugees to Israel. READ MORE

GATESTONE Khaled Abu Toameh: How Hamas Sees the West’s Recognition of ‘Palestine’ The recent announcements by France, Britain, Canada and other countries that they intend to recognize a Palestinian state have emboldened the Iran-backed Palestinian terror group Hamas…This was Hamas’s initial reaction to the announcements: “The recognition of the State of Palestine with full sovereignty is the fruit of our people’s continuous struggle.” Hamas clearly views the statements made by the leaders of France, Britain, Canada and other countries as the direct result of its October 7 carnage.

QUILLETTE Editorial Board: Against Palestinian Statehood Nurturing an alternative power structure in this kind of politically stunted society will be the work of generations. It can’t be summoned into existence by Western leaders seeking to appease domestic constituencies. “The decision by several countries to recognise a Palestinian state is one of the fruits of the October 7 [terrorist attacks],” declared a Hamas official last week. “[Hamas] brought the issue back to the forefront, and that is why all the countries are starting to recognise a Palestinian state.”