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Pretending a Palestinian State Exists Won't Make It So
(National Post-Canada) Rahim Mohamed - Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly has joined the chorus of voices calling for an independent Palestinian state, tweeting, "Canada is prepared to recognize the State of Palestine at the time most favorable to a lasting peace, not at the last step along the path." Yet the Palestinians don't have anything even close to a functional government. In fact, they have two failed ones. Fatah, the Mahmoud Abbas-led West Bank governing party, now finds itself polling more than 20 points behind Hamas on its own home turf since Oct. 7. Abbas, who hasn't stood in a competitive election since 2005, held an 8% approval rating among West Bank Palestinians as of March. He has effectively ruled by decree since the Palestinian Legislative Council was suspended in 2007. At this point, it's not even clear who has the authority to represent the Palestinian people in the international arena. Hamas, the most popular party in both Gaza and the West Bank, has been designated a terrorist organization in eight countries, including Canada, plus the EU. "Palestine," as it stands, is less a sovereign state than a half-baked idea drawn on a cocktail napkin. While Joly is joining the faddish call for Palestinian statehood, she must know deep down that the Palestinian territories look nothing like a state and likely won't anytime soon.