A virtue-signaling surrender

Many have long warned that premature recognition of a Palestinian state would not only fail to advance peace but would actively embolden the forces of Islamist extremism that threaten Israel’s existence. Such a recognition amounts to nothing less than rewarding terrorism—specifically, the barbaric atrocities committed by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, which claimed over 1,200 Israeli lives in a single day. On Sept. 21, 2025, just as world leaders gathered on the eve of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, several Western nations—longtime allies of Israel—announced their formal recognition of a “State of Palestine.” This coordinated display of diplomatic theater is less a bold step toward justice than a craven act of virtue signaling. It panders to domestic pressures without addressing the root causes of the conflict: Hamas’s genocidal charter and the Palestinian leadership’s chronic rejection of compromise.

The announcements were timed with the precision of a political stunt, aimed at stealing headlines at the UNGA while pressuring Israel into concessions it cannot afford to make. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer led the charge in a video statement, declaring that the recognition was essential to “keep alive the possibility of peace and a two-state solution,” envisioning “a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable Palestinian state.” For all its lofty rhetoric, Starmer’s words rang hollow against the backdrop of Hamas’s unbroken control over Gaza and its refusal to disarm. Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney echoed this fanciful sentiment, stating that the move empowered “those who seek peaceful coexistence and the end of Hamas.” Carney naively tied the recognition—wait for it—to commitments from the Palestinian Authority for governance reforms and elections in 2026 that would bar Hamas participation. Like Starmer, he positioned it as a pragmatic push toward diplomacy, but the timing—amid stalled ceasefire talks and with hostages still languishing in tunnels—betrayed its performative nature.

France has been the most vocal architect of this shift. President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly described recognition as a “necessity” and a “historical commitment to just peace,” vowing to announce it solemnly at the UNGA to end the “terrorism and violence in all its forms” while honoring Palestinian aspirations. Unsurprisingly, Australia and Portugal joined the chorus that day, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calling it a step toward diplomatic relations, and Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel deeming it a “fundamental line of Portuguese foreign policy” to foster a ceasefire and coexistence.

These statements, dripping with appeals to hope and humanity, mask a profound naivety. They come at a moment when Hamas retains de facto control over Gaza, uses civilians as human shields, and diverts aid to build terror tunnels rather than schools. The leaders’ assurances that Hamas will be sidelined ring false; after all, the group was elected in 2006 and has since consolidated power through violence, not ballots. This is not statesmanship; it is a desperate bid for moral high ground that weakens the West’s resolve against jihadist terror. These recognitions are less about Palestinians than about Western leaders burnishing their progressive credentials amid Gaza’s horrors, at the expense of Israel’s survival and the hostages’ plight.

The United States has rejected this folly outright, labeling it precisely what it is, “a gift to Hamas,” “an insult to the victims of October 7,” and a “showing of weakness” and virtue signaling that emboldens America’s enemies. President Donald Trump, who has long dismissed Palestinian statehood as unacceptable without ironclad security guarantees, echoed this in prior remarks, stating he disapproved of the United Kingdom’s pivot and viewing it as a distraction from eradicating Hamas.

The recognition of a Palestinian state is a dangerous miscalculation. Granting statehood now—with Hamas unvanquished—legitimizes a quasi-state riddled with corruption, where leaders siphon aid for personal gain while glorifying “Muslim martyrs” who target civilians. Israelis can never trust a neighbor that harbors genocidal intent emboldened by Islamic teaching. The recognition without eradicating Hamas risks turning the West Bank into another launchpad for rockets. Worse, what many don’t recognize is that a Palestinian state could destabilize Jordan and Egypt, birthing a jihadist entity akin to a caliphate, right on Israel’s doorstep, fueled by indoctrination that teaches children jihad over coexistence.

Bogus optimism overlooks history’s verdict. To claim the recognition empowers “moderates” ignores Hamas’s explicit charter, demanding Israel’s annihilation. This optimism is not progressive—it’s delusion, a feel-good gesture that distracts from dismantling terror networks, ending incitement in schools, and uprooting corruption where PA officials amass fortunes while their people starve.

Recognizing a Palestinian state now is profoundly premature. It rewards the orchestrators of the Oct. 7 massacre, when families were burned alive, women were assaulted, and children were dragged into darkness—all justified by an ideology that glorifies death over life. With Gaza’s education system steeped in anti-Semitism and the PA paying stipends to terrorists’ families, the foundation for statehood is rotten. The path forward demands courage, not capitulation: Isolate Hamas through sanctions, support Israel’s right to self-defense, and condition aid on verifiable reforms. Anything less rewards evil and courts disaster.