Illustration: Chen Xia/GT

On Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that his country will recognize a Palestinian state in September. This came after recent similar statements from France and the UK. Meanwhile, several European and Arab countries held a ministerial meeting at the UN headquarters to discuss a peaceful resolution to the Palestine-Israel conflict and reaffirm the international community's support for the "two-state solution." This is clearly linked to the dire situation in Gaza, as the humanitarian disaster in the region has reached an unprecedentedly critical level.

At this special moment, the announcement by those Western countries to recognize Palestine undoubtedly represents moral support for the Palestinian people. On a broader scale, at least 142 of the 193 UN member states have already recognized or plan to recognize a Palestinian state, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the total membership. This demonstrates that support for Palestinian statehood has become a basic consensus of the international community. The "two-state solution" is the only realistic path to resolving the Palestine-Israel issue for the following three reasons.

First, it is rooted in international consensus formed by a series of UN resolutions, providing it with a solid legal foundation. From UN Resolution 181 on the partition of Palestine in 1947, to UN Security Council Resolution 242 in 1967, calling for Israel to withdraw from "territories occupied in the recent conflict" and for Arab states to accept Israel's right "to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force," to Security Council Resolution 1515 that reaffirms the vision of "two states" in 2003, these resolutions are binding international legal documents and form the legal foundation of the "two-state solution." As UN Secretary-General António Guterres has recently said: "Statehood for the Palestinians is a right, not a reward."

Second, the "two-state solution" conforms to historical reality. The Palestine-Israel conflict manifests as two major nations, Arabs and Jews, making mutually exclusive territorial claims over the same piece of land. Arab people have lived in Palestine for generations, since the 7th century. By 1948, before the establishment of Israel, Arabs were still the main population in Palestine. Since the 1st century AD, a large part of the Jewish population had left the region, and in 1948 they reestablished a state in Palestine. This being the case, the Palestinians, who have lived there for generations, naturally also have the right to establish an independent state. Israel's military actions have plunged Gaza into a severe survival crisis, especially since 2023. Against this backdrop, Palestine's independent statehood is the only way to better protect its territorial integrity and the legitimate rights and interests of its people - this is also an important reason why the international community is currently focused on Palestinian statehood.

Third, implementing the "two-state solution" is the common aspiration of Middle Eastern countries and the foundation for achieving peace and stability in the region. The Palestine-Israel issue is at the core of the Middle East problem. Since October 2023, Israel has expanded the conflict indiscriminately following Hamas' Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, and its military operations in Gaza have now lasted over 21 months. This conflict has triggered multiple spillover effects, turning the region's "trend of détente" back into a "trend of turmoil." Escalating regional conflict is a war without winners. While Israel has a relative advantage, it has also paid a heavy price. From the most practical perspective, Israel cannot simply make 2 million people in Gaza disappear, nor can it remain permanently hostile to the Arab-Islamic world. Therefore, the most realistic approach is to recognize the "two-state solution" and advance the Palestine-Israel peace process.

It should be pointed out that although the "two-state solution" is the only realistic path to resolving the Palestine-Israel issue, it has never been truly implemented. From its historical origins, the 1947 UN partition plan had flaws due to various factors. Furthermore, Israel, backed by the powerful apparatus of violence, its "statehood," and with the strong support of the US, has won repeatedly in Middle East wars and seized large amounts of land originally allocated to Palestine.

It is precisely against the backdrop of Israel having already established a state and wantonly infringing upon Palestinian rights that Palestinian statehood has become even more urgent. This is both the final step in implementing the "two-state solution" and the only viable solution for achieving lasting peace between Palestine and Israel. The international community's future efforts should focus on the "two-state solution" and provide more support for Palestine's independent statehood.

The author is the director of the Middle East Studies Institute at the School of Global and Area Studies, Renmin University of China. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn