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OPINION:
If you were to ignore the past 60 years of Israeli-Palestinian relations, you might make the foolish mistakes that the United Nations, France, Britain and, now, Canada are making.
The United Nations, France, Britain and Canada aren’t really making mistakes. They are, in their bias against Israel, taking actions intentionally and with malice.
What they are doing is trying to ensure that Hamas survives the war it started with Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sworn that Hamas will not survive the war. The disdain the United Nations, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer have for Mr. Netanyahu is almost enough to propel them. Worse still, they are trying to keep Hamas as a viable government for the Gaza Strip.
Yes, there is hunger in Gaza, but not as widespread as “news” organizations such as the BBC would lead you to believe. Israel is part of the problem, but not in comparison with Hamas — or the United Nations.
Food is being withheld from Gaza because the United Nations insists that Hamas participate in the distribution of it, rather than legitimate U.S. aid groups or any independent agency. Hamas has threatened the lives of anyone who distributes food without its participation.
Asked whether he agreed with Mr. Netanyahu that people are not starving in Gaza, President Trump said, “I don’t know. I mean, based on television, I would say not particularly, because those children look very hungry.”
However, children’s hunger can be manipulated, just as Hamas and its sympathizers have manipulated the media and casualty statistics since the war began. It’s not as if Hamas cares one whit about the lives of children or anyone else in Gaza.
Israel has paused fighting in parts of Gaza to allow more food and medical supplies to enter the strip. The Israelis have authorized thousands of tons of food and medical supplies. Israel is not the problem; the United Nations and Hamas are.
As long as the United Nations insists on Hamas’ participation in the distribution of food relief in Gaza, children will starve. Then there’s France and Britain.
The French are used to being on the wrong side of history, but this is slightly different.
On July 20, Mr. Macron had a 19% approval rating at home. As The Wall Street Journal has written, his unpopularity may have accounted for his Sunday embrace of a “Palestinian state.”
Mr. Macron said, “Consistent with its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognize the State of Palestine.” Mr. Macron also wrote to Palestinian Authority chieftain Mahmoud Abbas, saying, “In doing so, France will make a decisive contribution to peace in the Middle East.”
Fortunately, Mr. Trump had the last word. He said, “What [Macron] says doesn’t matter. It’s not going to change anything.”
Mr. Starmer’s words and Canada’s position won’t change anything either.
Mr. Trump is right. The French, British and Canadian recognition of a Palestinian state will not change anything, but the timing of the French and British announcements raises questions.
Though recognized by almost 150 countries, a Palestinian state doesn’t exist. It has no government, no borders and literally no existence. So why does Mr. Macron want to recognize it now and at the September meeting of the U.N. General Assembly?
It’s not just their disdain for Mr. Netanyahu. Their timing is intended to sustain Hamas as a “legitimate” government in Gaza. The only other reason is to pressure Israel into a “peace” settlement with Hamas. Both reasons are clearly pertinent.
Mr. Macron and Mr. Starmer are smart enough to know that the Palestinian Authority has no power in Gaza or the West Bank. Palestinians reject Mr. Abbas as a weak figurehead.
Mr. Macron and Mr. Starmer also know that Hamas has the backing of Iran and the under-the-table support of the Qatari government. It seems a safer bet to back a “Palestinian state” now rather than later, particularly when the United Nations is effectively blocking food aid without Hamas’ participation.
France has a long history of surrendering to evil and opposing the United States. The Germans marched down the Champs-Elysees in 1871 and again in 1940. Britain, not so much. From Richard the Lionheart to Winston Churchill, Britain has resisted evil.
On the eve of the U.S. and British invasion of Iraq in 2003, the French foreign minister (whose name thankfully escapes me) was asked who he wanted to win the coming war. He refused to answer.
The French are surrendering to evil again now. The Hamas terrorists are the only possible beneficiaries of Mr. Macron’s proclamation.
Fortunately, as Mr. Trump said, Mr. Macron’s proclamation won’t change anything. Nor will Mr. Starmer’s. It won’t reshape the forces fighting in Gaza or affect Iran’s global terrorist ambitions. Those things will have to be decided by the belligerents, Israel and Hamas, and by the major world players, in which France, Britain and Canada are not included.
• Jed Babbin is a national security and foreign affairs columnist for The Washington Times and contributing editor for The American Spectator.
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