The Dangerous Consequences of Recognizing a Palestinian State

Recognizing “Palestine” as a state isn’t a step toward peace; it’s a green light for terrorism, a reward for corruption, and an open invitation to destroy Israel. The world keeps clinging to this childish illusion that stamping “State of Palestine” on a piece of paper will magically bring harmony to the Middle East.

Security Council meeting on situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question at UN headquarters in New York on April 25, 2023 (Shutterstock)

For decades, the so-called Palestinian leadership has refused every serious peace deal offered to them. In 2000, in 2008, and again in 2014, they walked away. Every time Israel put land on the table, they demanded more. Every time the world pressured Israel, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority celebrated. Why? Because they’re not fighting for peace. They’re fighting for the elimination of Israel altogether.

After October 7, Hamas leaders openly bragged that their slaughter of Israelis was moving the needle toward international recognition of “Palestine.” They weren’t shy about it, publicly declaring that the massacre had “put the Palestinian issue back on the table” and forced the world to pay attention. In their twisted worldview, rivers of Jewish blood are a public relations strategy. And when governments respond to such atrocities by talking about recognizing Palestine, they are proving Hamas right.

They are teaching the terrorists that murder works better than diplomacy, that kidnapping children is more effective than negotiation, and that the fastest path to a seat at the UN is through mass graves. This is the moral insanity of our time: rewarding genocidal violence not with condemnation, but with legitimacy. Recognizing Palestine rewards that behavior. It says to terrorists: “You can kill, you can teach your children to hate Jews, you can launch rockets into cities, and the world will still hand you legitimacy.” Do you understand how insane that is? If any other group behaved this way, let’s say ISIS or al-Qaeda, no one would dare suggest giving them a seat at the United Nations. But when it comes to the Palestinians, the world loses its moral compass.

Kibbutz Kfar Aza, Israel, January 29, 2024 Houses in Kibbutz Kfar Aza received numerous hits from automatic weapons or were set on fire. They are still considered scenes of crimes against humanity (Shutterstock)

A State Without Accountability Is a Disaster

Here’s what you’d be creating by recognizing Palestine:

• A terror state in the heart of the Middle East run by Hamas, whose founding charter literally calls for the murder of Jews.

• A dictatorship under Mahmoud Abbas, who hasn’t faced an election in nearly 20 years.

• A launchpad for Iran to funnel more weapons into Gaza and the West Bank, surrounding Israel from all sides.

The Global Consequences

People think this is just about Israel and the Palestinians. Wrong. Recognizing Palestine would embolden every radical movement in the world. It would tell extremists that violence works, that history can be rewritten with propaganda, and that Western nations will cave if you shout loud enough.

It would also fracture alliances. Israel is one of the few stable democracies in the Middle East, a nation that shares intelligence, technology, and values with the West. Undermining Israel weakens the fight against terrorism everywhere, from Europe to Africa to the U.S.

When Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005, Hamas took over and turned it into a war zone. That’s exactly what a Palestinian state in the West Bank would become, except it would be within rocket range of Israel’s major cities, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

The Palestinian Authority glorifies murderers, pays salaries to terrorists’ families, and teaches children to hate Jews before they can even read. This isn’t a culture preparing for peaceful coexistence. It’s a culture marinating in violence.

Recognizing Palestine in this climate would be like giving a drunk driver the keys to a school bus. It’s reckless, it’s dangerous, and it will end in tragedy.

Get a personal perspective on the Middle East conflict in our post, I'm Israeli and I Want Peace.

Palestinians wave Fatah movement flags during a rally marking the 18th anniversary of the death of Fatah founder and Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat in Gaza City, on November 10, 2022. (Shutterstock)

Where Hope Really Comes From

Peace won’t come from empty declarations at the UN. It won’t come from European diplomats or from the latest “two-state” slogan. Peace will only come when the Palestinian leadership renounces terrorism, recognizes Israel’s right to exist, and starts building a culture of life instead of death.

There is hope, because ordinary Palestinians and Israelis want to live without fear. The tragedy is that their leaders keep choosing war over peace. The international community should be pressuring the Palestinians to reform, not rewarding them for their crimes.

The world needs to stop pretending that recognizing Palestine will end the conflict. The truth is, the only way forward is to stand firm on truth, defend Israel’s right to exist, and refuse to give legitimacy to those who seek its destruction. Anything less is not just bad policy, it’s a betrayal of justice, morality, and God’s word.