Britain and France Talk Palestinian Statehood
Plus: Ocasio-Cortez told to pay up, Mao revisionism, and more...
Palestinian statehood? Yesterday, news broke that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer would recognize a Palestinian state if Israel and Hamas did not reach a lasting ceasefire agreement by September. The week prior, French politicians had made similar noises, with France and over a dozen other countries unveiling a joint resolution from the United Nations yesterday that would do much the same.
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The actions of Britain and France reflect souring public approval for both Israel's war in Gaza—which attempts to stamp out the terrorist group Hamas, responsible for perpetrating the October 7, 2023, attack that killed 1,200 and took 250 hostage—and Israel's increasingly aggressive actions in the West Bank.
In the West Bank, Israeli forces have displaced more Palestinians while also expanding plans for settlements, worsening relations.
The joint resolution articulates a vision for two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, "living side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders." The diplomats seem to recognize that, for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Hamas holding any power going forward is a nonstarter, and "said they were determined to develop an international framework for the 'day after' in Gaza that would include reconstruction, the disarmament of Hamas, and its exclusion from governance structures," per AMU.
To go back to basics, statehood criteria were laid out all the way back in 1933. There are four elements that must be satisfied: a permanent population, territorial boundaries that are clearly defined, and a government—presumably the Palestinian Authority that runs the West Bank—that must be able to conduct international affairs. Recognizing Palestinian statehood would require that many countries engage in "a complete revision of bilateral relations with Israel," Ardi Imseis, an associate professor at Queen's University Faculty of Law in Ontario, told The New York Times. "For example," continues the Times, "if an aspect of trade aids or assists Israel in violation of the rights of a Palestinian state, then the recognizing nation would have to cease that exchange."
It does not seem all that likely to happen. But it's significant that so many European nations, including some of the most powerful, are signaling their interest in recognizing statehood; support for Netanyahu domestically has ebbed and flowed, but it's certainly waned internationally over the last few months as Israel's campaign in Gaza has gone on longer and reports of Israeli troops opening fire on Gazans attempting to access humanitarian aid shipments have given Israel Defense Forces (IDF) a real public relations (not to mention moral) problem.
(The IDF's defense for an incident earlier this month: Troops had "identified suspects who approached them during operational activity in the Rafah area" about one kilometer from the aid site "at night-time when it's not active." But these incidents have become disturbingly common, with large death tolls. Israeli forces do correctly offer that Hamas engages in looting that prevents the aid from reaching starving people, but international onlookers and journalists repeatedly describe the attempts to reach aid-distribution sites as chaotic, with IDF gunfire raining down sporadically, not in some sort of targeted manner.)
Israel has, to some degree, responded to international criticism that it's employing deliberate starvation techniques in Gaza, starting aid airdrops this month. An IDF statement was explicit about this, saying the airdrops are "aimed at improving the humanitarian response" and to "refute the false claims of deliberate starvation in the Gaza Strip."
Past ceasefire negotiations have come off the rails due to disputes over hostage releases and the total eradication of Hamas in Gaza. It's not totally clear what will be different as this September deadline approaches, or how progress will be made—and European pressure may not ultimately matter that much at all.
Scenes from New York: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was told to pay up for her infamous 2021 Met Gala "Tax the Rich" outfit. The House Ethics Committee, comprised of both Republicans and Democrats, finally—after years of investigation—ruled that her initial payment of merely $1,000 to the designer who made the dress violated House rules by being well under fair market value.
QUICK HITS
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- "Vinay Prasad, a top official at the Food and Drug Administration, has suddenly departed after a series of controversial decisions about a treatment for boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy," reports STAT. Speculation as to what went down here, via PharmaPhorum, but no reasoning has been verified yet.
- "A liberal world order consisting of Western Europe and Canada would not be an order but an impotent anachronism. Even as the post-Cold War order fades away and America's leader boasts about acting purely in self interest, the United States is still called upon to mediate conflicts between India and Pakistan or Cambodia and Thailand or Congo and Rwanda, even as it continues to supply weaponry that protects Taiwan and staves off defeat for Ukraine," writes Ross Douthat in his newsletter. "Should American power retreat fully from that role, there is no liberal successor waiting in the wings. And the concessions made to Trump by NATO members on military spending targets, like the European Union's trade concessions, reflect an awareness of this reality—in which it's always better to help prop up the Pax Americana than to seek to build a post-American system."
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- Worthwhile student loan discourse:
This is a constant suggestion among people who don't understand that we are the bank. Do this, and you're the creditor getting stiffed as 1.5 generations declare bankruptcy en masse (only a slight hyperbole) https://t.co/upQB9TZlha
— Inez Stepman ⚪️????⚪️ (@InezFeltscher) July 29, 2025
- Sen. Josh Hawley's (R–Mo.) math doesn't really make sense, but also, I have an idea for how we could avoid needing tariff rebate checks:
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley introduces legislation to provide tariff rebate checks of at least $600 per adult and child to American families. https://t.co/b6VC7DXJB1
— NBC News (@NBCNews) July 29, 2025
