AJC Rejects Unilateral Recognition of Palestinian Statehood

As the 80th United Nations General Assembly convenes, American Jewish Committee (AJC), the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, reiterates its rejection of unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood as a means to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state outside of, and preempting, direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians removes any incentive for compromise and will likely undermine the potential for a negotiated two-state solution in the future, jeopardize the cause of peace, and set back the realization of legitimate Palestinian political aspirations.

Without also requiring the release of the remaining hostages and the disarmament of Hamas - an internationally recognized terrorist organization - unilateral recognition of a nonexistent Palestinian state emboldens terror groups like Hamas, sending a dangerous message legitimizing violence and hostage-taking as viable tactics to achieve political goals. This poses a serious strategic threat to countries across the Middle East.

The international community should first focus its attention on prospects for ending this war and creating the conditions for a "day after" political process, beginning with pressuring Hamas to return all remaining hostages - the living for rehabilitation and reunification with their loved ones, and the deceased for proper burial. AJC further calls on the international community to ensure that Hamas' extremist ideology has no future. This includes taking meaningful steps to delegitimize Hamas and insisting on reforms within the Palestinian Authority.

While the pursuit of a two-state solution, negotiated directly by the parties, can provide a political horizon envisioning greater stability and prosperity for both Israelis and Palestinians, international recognition must follow, not precede, such a process - a process conditioned upon new leadership, structures, and laws focused on state-building and deradicalization; the abandonment of educational curricula and civic practices which delegitimize the other and payment structures which reward and incentivize "martyrdom;" the demonstration of effective governance in the West Bank and Gaza; steps to establish a functioning, self-sustaining Palestinian economy; and provisions to assure freedom of operation for Israeli security forces as needed. There can be no Palestinian state unless and until the Palestinian narrative acknowledges that the modern Jewish state of Israel is here to stay.

AJC is the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people. With headquarters in New York, 25 regional offices across the United States, 15 overseas posts, as well as partnerships with 38 Jewish community organizations worldwide, AJC's mission is to enhance the well-being of the Jewish people and Israel and to advance human rights and democratic values in the United States and around the world. For more, please visit www.ajc.org .

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