Rewarding Bad Behavior

Within the last several weeks, we have heard from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that he plans to recognize a Palestinian state, as long as Israel takes the necessary steps, which involve agreeing to a ceasefire, coming to a long-term sustainable peace, and reviving the prospect of a two-state solution.

What conditions has Mr. Starmer been put on Hamas, the party that started this long war? Look back on almost two years to October 7, 2023, and most of us can recall Hamas’ nihilistic depravity, murdering children in front of their parents, parents in front of their children, burning entire communities to the ground, kidnaping, torturing, raping, and murdering many of the 251 young people snatched in the prime of their lives, holding them in terror tunnels, while murdering 1200 of our people?

Is this not a reward for Hamas’ intention to commit genocide against the Jewish people? Have there been any conditions whatsoever been put on the Palestinians for their recognition of statehood? Where are their government institutions, their borders, their educational materials? What will they be teaching their children? Will it be more of the same vilification of Jews?

Face it: There would be no war in Gaza if the Palestinians of Gaza had not embarked on their hate-infested pogrom on October 7^th.

Will they abandon their genocidal intentions?

According to senior Qatar-based Hamas official Ghazi Hamid, it most definitely is.  On August 2^nd he said that “The initiative by several countries to recognize a Palestinian state is one of the fruits of October 7. We proved that victory over Israel is not impossible, and our weapons are a symbol of Palestinian dignity.”

And then there’s French President Emmanuel Macron who announced his plans to recognize a Palestinian state in September, hosting a conference in New York to create that likelihood. Mr. Macron had told German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that “he was under immense pressure at home, and would most likely recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations in September.”

We know, of course that some of that “immense pressure” has to do with the growing demographic realities that both Europe and France have been confronting. What about Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and his intentions to recognize a Palestinian state?

The Prime Minister seems to insist on several conditions, such as exclusion of Hamas, reforms towards fiscal transparency, good governance within the Palestinian Authority, the release of hostages – All? A few? Alive or dead?

And today, August 11, 2025, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that he would recognize a Palestinian state in September.

We should well remember that none of these conditions came to fruition during the Oslo Accords, when Hamas seized power in Gaza shortly after its withdrawal is 2005.

Since then, according to our negotiator Steve Witcoff, every single offer made to Hamas has been rejected. They are using our dying hostages, and their own women and children that they hide behind, as their own life insurance policy.

The bitter lesson of Oslo was that lofty promises, without real enforcement mechanisms, become meaningless words on paper. We were told then that peace was within reach—yet terrorism flourished, corruption within the Palestinian Authority deepened, and Hamas entrenched itself, transforming Gaza into a fortress of rockets and terror tunnels.

It is therefore not cynicism, but hard-earned realism, to ask: why should this time be any different? Recognition of a Palestinian state, absent the dismantling of Hamas, or any other jihadist group, the disarmament of its militias, and a fundamental change in the education of its children, would not herald peace—it would cement the gains of terrorism, and constitute a grave threat to the state of Israel.

Indeed, what message does the West send when it offers statehood not after peace is made, but while hostages are still held in underground cages, and while Hamas leaders openly gloat that the barbaric slaughter of October 7 was a strategic victory? To grant such a reward in the shadow of unrepentant violence is to encourage others to follow the same murderous path.

It is worth recalling that international recognition is not a birthright; it is earned through responsible governance, peaceful conduct, and a demonstrated commitment to coexistence. The Palestinians—whether in Gaza under Hamas or in the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority—have yet to build the institutions, borders, or civic culture that are the foundations of a viable, peaceful state. Until they do, recognition will not bring peace—it will bring only more war, under the cover of international legitimacy.

If the world is serious about a two-state solution, it must be equally serious about the conditions placed upon both sides. Anything less is not diplomacy—it is surrender.

To reward October 7 with the prize of statehood is to turn barbarism into a blueprint. If the world truly seeks peace, it must demand from the Palestinians not just words, but deeds—disarmament, an end to incitement, and a genuine embrace of coexistence. Anything less is not a path to peace; it is the paving of the road to the next massacre of the Jewish state.

Sarah N. Stern is Founder and President of the Endowment for Middle East Truth, (EMET).