On April 18, the U.S. vetoed Palestinian statehood, declaring that statehood can only come through negotiations with Israel. But what if Israel doesn’t want to negotiate? After all, Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed U.S. commitment to Israeli security through Palestinian statehood in January, only for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to immediately respond by saying Palestine would never exist.
A lack of statehood puts Palestine at an immediate disadvantage in any supposed negotiations that would exist, not to mention Israel wields immense power over Palestinians in everything from accessing medical care to humanitarian efforts in the United Nations Security Council. What hostage was ever expected to negotiate their own release?
Regardless of Israeli (un)willingness to cede land for a sovereign Palestine, any contract negotiated under threat of coercion is void — a negotiated settlement is impossible without ending the occupation. Practically, that leaves only one option: a U.N. peacekeeping force. Israel claims it cannot trust its security to anyone else, but endless examples prove that Israel cannot be trusted with Palestinian security.
