Palestinians Seek Action Amid Formal Statehood Recognition

Tue Oct 21 2025 12:44:21 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

In the wake of recent recognition of Palestinian statehood by multiple Western nations, residents in the West Bank express their demands for tangible solutions rather than mere acknowledgment.

With countries like the UK and France formally recognizing Palestine at the UN, many Palestinians in the West Bank remain wary, feeling that such recognition lacks substance without international pressure and concrete actions that ensure their rights and freedoms. Amidst ongoing Israeli control and settlement expansion, the local population's sentiments reveal critical concerns for their future and the feasibility of a viable Palestinian state.

In Ramallah - the de facto Palestinian capital of the occupied West Bank - many fear Western recognition of Palestinian statehood is too little, too late.

I'm really glad that there are people who can see our suffering in Palestine and understand the problems we're going through, says Diaa, 23, who did not want to give his full name.

But while recognition is important, what we really need are solutions. This city is home to government buildings, diplomatic missions, and a sprawling presidential palace.

But for many Palestinians, the dream remains that East Jerusalem - just a few miles south but largely cut off by Israel's separation barrier - could become their capital under a two-state solution, which would create an independent Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, alongside Israel.

With that stated goal, the UK, France, Australia, Canada, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, Andorra, and Monaco announced formal recognition of the State of Palestine at the UN General Assembly in New York this week.

Recognition is a positive after all this time, says Kamal Daowd, 40, on a busy Ramallah street. But without international pressure it will not be enough.

If recognition comes without giving us our rights, he says. Then it's nothing more than ink on paper.

Israel has labelled the Western move a reward for terrorism. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Sunday there will be no Palestinian state - while ultranationalists in his governing coalition went further, repeating calls for Israel to annex the West Bank outright.

Up and down the territory, hundreds of new Israeli military checkpoints have sprung up, often accompanied by sudden road closures. Palestinians say short journeys can now last hours. The Palestinian Authority (PA), which governs parts of the territory not under Israeli control, has been placed under a long-term economic siege, with Israel withholding the tax revenues it needs to pay teachers and police.

As for Gaza, the devastation is immense. More than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed during Israel's military campaign, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry, and most of the 2.1 million population has been displaced. The UN estimates 92% of housing units have been damaged or destroyed.

Despite growing despair, some Palestinian leaders still hold on to hope for a viable state, indicating the need for a renewed push within the international community to realize the recognition of statehood into reality.