153 UN member states, as well as the Vatican, have recognized the independence of Palestine. In addition to France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Portugal have recently joined the list.
Radar Armenia spoke to Artyom Chernamoryan, editor-in-chief of the “Israeli Armenians” newspaper, on the topic.
– Several European countries have made statements recognizing Palestine, and the French president announced the recognition of that country from the UN rostrum. What does this mean, why did they take this step now?
– Yes, the Principality of Monaco has also announced that it should recognize it. Military operations are increasing, and the main population that was located in the Gaza Strip lived in the central districts of the city, where the refugee camps were also located. In connection with this, military operations are heating up, and the international community is trying to put pressure on Israel to stop military operations. This is the reason why the process of recognizing the state has begun.
-What will follow the recognition of Palestine?
-Decades after the actual recognition, the state of Palestine is not being formed, because there are serious reasons. And no matter how many states recognize it, it is not possible to create a state now.
–What will happen to Hamas?
-Hamas still does not want to disarm. They are fighting only in a terrorist manner. Hamas, all international organizations, the most important organization, link the creation of a Palestinian state with the disarmament of Hamas, the elimination of Hamas as a movement and a party. But Hamas does not agree with this. After all, it has received billions of dollars from its sponsors and must use it. But what methods it uses to fight – let’s remember October 7. How many hundreds of people were kidnapped, robbed, raped, children burned alive. Despite all these atrocities, the international community, no matter how much it accuses Israel, cannot ignore the fact that Hamas is a terrorist organization.
–How would you interpret the statements of the Israeli Prime Minister that there will be no Palestinian state? What consequences could this have?
-Since Netanyahu’s government is in power, then yes, they will do everything to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state. How can Israel prevent this? Very calmly. Israel has taken so much territory from Palestine beyond the Green Line and today continues to build new settlements on these lands. Even if you want to draw a map, it is impossible to draw a dividing line between the two states. Today, there is an enclave called the Gaza Strip, which has almost no communication with the autonomous region of Palestine. At the moment, if we look at the maps of 1947-48 or the 90s, we will see that the settlements are connected. It is impossible to imagine large cities, such as the city of Ariel, as part of Palestine. We cannot imagine that Israel would cede such large cities, which have already been transformed into cities and settlements with tens of hundreds of residents since the 1970s, to the Palestinian autonomous region. And now the Israeli Minister of Finance and the Minister of Internal Security have decided to build a new settlement for several thousand people in this area called “Maale Adumim” in Jerusalem, which will generally create such watersheds that even if they physically wanted to, they could not create a Palestinian state. Where? With what capital?
They are talking about recognizing East Jerusalem as the capital, but it is an old city and consists of 4 districts: Christian, Armenian, Arab and Jewish. Now how should the old city be divided? Who will they give which part to? Will the Christian remain part of the Jewish one or will it join the Arab one? In that case, as citizens of Israel, how are we going to protect our rights to pray, to go to our holy places? The issue has been discussed for many years, and as far as I know, the Armenian Patriarchate wants to remain part of Israel, not Palestine. Because the citizens of Israel have all the rights of Western countries, all the liberating rights of man. And all the protected advantages in social, political, and economic aspects. This is the reality. As long as Netanyahu is in power, this cannot have any consequences. Only the imposed sanctions or the boycott of Israeli products by various military goods, European arms corporations.
