MK Ayman Odeh to submit bill to Knesset to recognize Palestinian state
Odeh welcomed the trilateral recognition and wrote that while the “Palestinian people are not the best people in the world, but there is no people in the world better than them.”
MK Ayman Odeh announced Sunday that on the opening day of the Knesset’s winter session, he will submit a bill calling for Israel’s official recognition of a Palestinian state, in response to Australia, Canada, and the UK recognizing one.
“I welcome the decision of the UK, Australia, and Canada to recognize a Palestinian state,” he wrote, adding that the Palestinian people are no better or worse than anyone else, but nevertheless deserve the right to self-determination.
“On the first day of the winter session, I will place on the Knesset table a bill to recognize a Palestinian state. Because there are two people here, and the State of Israel must also recognize this simple fact.”
A man walks at a barrier, at the Allenby Bridge Crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, September 8, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/AMMAR AWAD)
UK, Canada, Australia recognize Palestinian state
This came after the UK, Canada, and Australia all announced their official recognition of a Palestinian state in a coordinated effort on Sunday, ahead of the United Nations General Assembly on Monday.
Although all three stated their intentions earlier in the summer, the timing – a day ahead of the UNGA conference – has come as a surprise. It also means that, ahead of the UNGA, two G7 countries have now recognized a state of Palestine.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office called the decisions “an absurd reward for terrorism,” adding, “the international community will hear from us on this matter in the coming days.”
Mathilda Heller contributed to this report.
