The phrase ‘having a screw loose’ has perhaps never been more appropriate than when describing the scramble by some Western governments to recognise a Palestinian state. What’s being framed as a diplomatic breakthrough is, in reality, the rewarding of terrorism, anarchy, and decades of rejectionist propaganda.

Do Western leaders truly believe that anything substantive will change?

History has made this painfully clear. Twenty-five years ago, Yasser Arafat turned down what many consider the most generous offer for peace ever placed on the table – brokered by US President Bill Clinton and put forward by Israel’s left-leaning Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Arafat rejected it and walked away. This was not an isolated event. Every peace plan, from the 1947 UN Partition Plan onwards, has been refused by the Arab side, including the very notion of a two-state solution. In 1948, immediately after David Ben-Gurion declared Israel’s independence, Arab forces launched an all-out war rather than accept partition. Nothing about this core position has changed.

The dominant Palestinian narrative has never accepted the idea of coexistence with Israel.

Instead, the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), the Palestinian Authority, and Iran’s terrorist proxies – Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis – have embedded in their charters a singular, chilling goal: the eradication of Israel.

The chant ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!’ is not a call for peace or coexistence. It is a call for ethnic cleansing – pushing Jews into the sea, or killing them outright. This echoes the promise made by the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem to Hitler: to exterminate Jews who sought refuge in Palestine.

Now we see Hamas openly thanking Western leaders. French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer have earned praise from Hamas officials, who interpret these moves not as steps toward peace but as signs of victory. Senior Hamas figure Basem Naim, formerly part of the group’s Gaza government, responded to the UK’s announcement with jubilation: ‘Victory and liberation are closer than we expected.’ These are not the words of a man looking forward to reconciliation – they are the words of someone emboldened, confident in continuing the campaign of violence. In fact, Hamas has said it would carry out the atrocities of October 7 ‘again and again’.

Yet the UK now appears poised to reward these very people. This week, Prime Minister Starmer said Britain may formally recognise a Palestinian state as early as September – conditional upon Israel allowing more aid into Gaza, halting settlement activity in Judea and Samaria (West Bank), and re-entering a long-term peace process. Starmer added that Hamas must release all hostages, agree to a ceasefire, disarm, and accept that it will have no role in Gaza’s future governance. This is similar to what Israel has been calling for since October 7.

But such declarations are fantasy. How does Starmer expect to ensure Hamas ‘plays no part in governing Gaza’? Who, exactly, will enforce that? These are not actors operating within the bounds of reasoned political dialogue. They are violent ideologues who rape, torture, dismember, and burn civilians. They do not want peace. They want total victory. And they’ve never hidden that.

Let’s also ask the obvious: What are the borders of the state Starmer wants to recognise? Who governs it? Which faction speaks for the Palestinians – Fatah in Judea and Samaria or Hamas in Gaza? And will this new ‘state’ recognise Israel’s right to exist? None of these questions have credible answers. And perhaps that’s the point. Any honest pursuit of statehood would require giving up UN refugee status, ending incitement, and accepting permanent borders. Many within the Palestinian leadership have shown no interest in such conditions.

Even the Arab world has begun to shift. Over the past two years, key Arab nations – Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE – have signalled fatigue with the Palestinian leadership and have even called for Hamas to be removed from Gaza. They understand what many in the West apparently do not: that Hamas does not want peace, and will never allow for a functioning, democratic Palestinian state to emerge.

Emily Damari, a British-Israeli citizen held hostage by Hamas for 15 months, has called Starmer’s position a ‘moral failure’. She is right. Recognising a Palestinian state under current conditions does not advance peace – it legitimises violence. It sends a dangerous message: terror and propaganda works.

It is time for moral clarity. After 9/11, no Western leader advised America to ‘show restraint’ against the Taliban. No one suggested terrorism could be addressed through diplomacy with extremists. Yet Israel is held to this absurd standard every time it is forced to defend its citizens.

Keir Starmer should remember: the British Mandate ended in 1948. The United Kingdom has no authority to redraw Israel’s borders. And if he truly wishes to stand on the right side of history, he would do well to recall the courage and moral conviction of Winston Churchill – not appease those whose stated goal is the destruction of a democratic ally.