In the Media

The West Australian – 5 August 2025

It appears many Western leaders have now achieved peak idiocy regarding Israel – as they have shown by actions that will almost inevitably result in the exact opposite outcome to what they say they want, exhibiting amazing gullibility, and abandoning logic.

Exhibit A is UK PM Sir Keir Starmer. On July 29, Starmer announced his country would recognise a Palestinian state at the UN in September, unless Israel takes “substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza,” and agrees to a ceasefire, among other things.

He thereby reduced, to almost zero, chances of a ceasefire before the UN’s September assembly. Why? Because all the mediators, even Egypt and Qatar, concur Israel agreed to a ceasefire deal but Hamas refused. Now Starmer has given Hamas a massive incentive to ensure there is no ceasefire before then.

Hamas is also largely responsible for the “appalling situation in Gaza,” stirring up trouble around the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s (GHF) food distribution hubs, and stealing vast quantities of aid. Again, Starmer incentivised Hamas to keep up this malign behaviour, to perpetuate the “appalling situation”.

By contrast, his demands on Hamas seem to come without consequences for failure to comply.

This followed 28 foreign ministers, including Australia’s and the UK’s, signing a joint statement on July 21 strongly condemning Israel and demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire. Reports at the time stated Hamas was actually close to signing the ceasefire agreed by Israel, but the terrorist group suddenly backtracked. This can’t have been a coincidence.

How countries like Australia and the UK intended to enforce their demand that Hamas have no future in Gaza when also yet again demanding a ceasefire that left it in power has never been explained.

On July 29, 15 foreign ministers, including Australia’s and Canada’s, signed another statement calling on all countries to commit to recognising a Palestinian state. It welcomed the PA’s June 10 commitments, which included holding elections and terminating “the prisoner payment system”, also known as pay for slay.

Yet in February, PA President Mahmoud Abbas announced he had terminated this scheme. Just a hint. Someone who promises to stop doing something four months after he said he has stopped doing it is a liar. The PA has also several times previously promised to hold elections, but always found a pretext not to.

Then Canadian PM Mark Carney declared on July 30 Canada’s intention to also recognise a Palestinian state. Carney said Israel and Hamas had “gravely eroded” prospects for a two-state peace, but didn’t blame the Palestinian Authority (PA), Israel’s supposed peace partner, which has rejected many Israeli offers of statehood and other peacemaking initiatives, refusing since 2014 to even negotiate.

He did say his intention was predicated on the PA committing to much needed reforms, including governance reform and holding elections in 2026. So the PA need only make commitments it can’t be trusted to fulfil, not actually do anything.

All of this activity has been prompted by Israel’s alleged responsibility for Gaza’s dire humanitarian situation, with many demands Israel stop blocking aid. In reality, Israel has allowed in 1.5 million tons of food since the war began – enough to feed Gaza’s population for two years.

Hamas, which has repeatedly shown a willingness to sacrifice its own people to damage Israel’s standing, has caused the hunger by stealing the aid, to distribute to its own people, or sell at exorbitant prices to pay its fighters and recruit replacements for those killed.

Its repeated lies about Israel’s conduct are parroted by complicit UN agencies, absolutely riddled with Hamas members and sympathisers themselves, and then taken as gospel by our media and politicians.

The UN has now reported that between May 19 and July 31, 2,010 aid trucks were picked up inside Gaza for distribution, but 1,753 – 87% – failed to reach their destination. This disclosure, possibly prompted by Israeli revelations that the UN left 950 truckloads sitting inside Gaza uncollected, proved that constant UN denials that Hamas was stealing aid, and claims Israel was only allowing a trickle of aid into Gaza, were lies. Note the UN doesn’t count the 100 million meals the GHF has distributed since May.

Recognising a Palestinian state now would actually set back the cause of peace. It would encourage further terrorism and rejectionism. Hamas would rightly claim this Palestinian achievement was a direct result of its terrorist atrocities. Senior Hamas official Gazi Hamad, who last year promised Hamas would attack Israel “again and again” until it is destroyed, described the recognition initiatives as the “fruit” of October 7. The PA, for its part, would see its intransigence as vindicated.

I hope our leaders will consider all this in determining whether to proceed with recognising a Palestinian state, but I doubt it. It appears that in this case, other considerations, possibly domestic politics, trump common sense.