The Biden administration is looking at options for recognizing an independent Palestinian state, Axios reported Wednesday.
The U.S. and many members of the international community have historically not recognized an independent Palestinian state. The State Department is now reviewing a score of options to do so, including through pressure on international allies, as part of a broader effort to stabilize the Middle East in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel, two U.S. officials told Axios. (RELATED: Biden Reveals Whether He Thinks Two-State Solution Is Currently Possible After First Call With Netanyahu In Weeks)
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked the State Department to review several options, the two officials told Axios. The options reportedly include formally recognizing the creation of a Palestinian state, rejecting to veto its creation at the United Nations, or urging other countries to support its recognition.
The recognition of a Palestinian state would be part of a plan to help normalize relations between Israel and other Arab nations in the Middle East, according to Axios. Saudi Arabia has said a peace deal with Israel is contingent on the “irrevocable” recognition of a Palestinian state.
The Biden administration has been publicly supportive of a two-state solution between the Palestinians and the Israelis, but it may be a higher priority now in light of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, one official told Axios.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly rejected the Biden administration’s calls for the recognition of a Palestinian state. His view is shared among top Israeli leadership and within the majority of the country’s population, according to a December Gallup poll.
Blinken also asked the State Department to look at options for demilitarizing a possible Palestinian state, the officials told Axios. Netanyahu expressed interest in a demilitarized Palestinian state in 2009 and 2015, but has made no recent indication he is still interested.
Nothing has yet been finalized within the Biden administration on the recognition of a Palestinian state.
The Biden administration has privately disagreed with Israel on how the war against Hamas should be conducted and how long it should last. The Biden administration is pushing Israel to quickly scale back operations in Gaza in favor of humanitarian needs in the region.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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