‘I Think That Palestine Declares Itself a State’: Democrat Makes Bold Statement
Texas congressman cites history of 1948 with counsel for the Middle East
Palestine should unilaterally declare itself a nation using the manner in which Israel was created in 1948 for doing so.
That’s the advice of Rep Al Green, a longtime Democratic congressman from Texas, who offered it in an open letter to President Biden published in the Houston Chronicle.
The state of Palestinians has been at-issue since the Israeli military began operations in Gaza after the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023.
Some 32,000 Palestinians have been killed — including thousands of women and young children — and millions now face imminent famine.
Israel’s far-right government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also has walked away from commitments for a two-state solution to establish a separate nation for Palestinians.
Green discussed his recommendation Thursday during a public affairs program on C-SPAN.
“This letter goes to the president because I wanted to just remind him of something that I’m sure he’s acutely aware of. And that is that 14 of May 1948, Israel declared itself a state. And President [Harry] Truman, who was the president of the United States at that time, was the first major world power country to recognize Israel as such,” Green said. “And that has created an imbalance.
“I’m hoping that we will understand that at that time, the Palestinians did not consent to Israel becoming a state. In facts, they were vehemently opposed. I don’t think that now, we need to have Israel’s consent to help Palestine become a state,” he added. “I think that Palestine declares itself a state. I think if we would recognize it, I think that would help us to move this process along.
“Unfortunately, we have since that date — in 1948 to now — we’ve had an Israeli state, but we’ve not had a Palestinian state. Israel can lobby for itself at the United Nations, [but] Palestine is an observer. It’s a good status to have, but it’s not the same as being a member state.”
There’s presently no functional government in Gaza, with a population of more than 2 million currently in deep crisis.
“And during this interregnum, I think it’s a great time for us to start the process of doing these things. The Palestinians seem to be moving now away from this notion that there are some means of acquiring statehood, other than what I’m talking about. I think they want to move in this direction, we are seeing polls indicating this, and I think it will be good for them,” Green said. “I think it’s going to be good for us because we are the country that for too long has blocked the opportunity for Palestine to become a state. Literally at the United Nations, we prevented it.
“It’s time for us to get on board with it. President Biden has indicated his desire to see it happen, I’m very much for it,” the congressman added.
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