Overview

• France, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada joined a coordinated push to recognise Palestine, with leaders casting the step as a bid to keep a two-state outcome viable.
• Israel rejected the moves outright, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing there will be no Palestinian state and the Knesset having backed a motion in July to annex the West Bank.
• Independent research tracking 360 sites found West Bank settlements’ built-up area grew 72% over the past decade, and the newly approved E1 plan for 3,400 homes would effectively split the territory.
• The UN Secretariat and the International Criminal Court have concluded that Israeli control over borders, movement, resources and security operations undermines the Palestinian Authority’s capacity to govern under Montevideo criteria.
• Governance remains unresolved, with the PA widely seen as illegitimate in the West Bank, many Gazans saying no one represents them, and critics warning recognition risks empowering unelected PA leadership.