France's, UK's 'Diplomatic Theater' Grants Hamas a Propaganda Victory; Undermines Israel's Right to Self-Defense
The hard truth is that months of diplomatic maneuvering — through quiet American efforts — have failed. However, the major media, along with much of European public opinion, continues to focus on alleged Israeli "abuses," while ignoring the reality that Hamas has never negotiated in good faith.
It has deliberately stalled, rejecting real cease-fire arrangements while using hostages and civilians as bargaining chips.
For months, anti-Israeli propaganda in Europe has painted Israel as the obstacle to peace, accusing it of refusing cease-fire offers.
Yet it's absolutely the opposite which is true.
Hamas has consistently blocked every serious effort to end the war, refusing even the basic demand for the release of hostages.
Now that the futility of these one-sided demands has become evident, France and England have chosen a new path — no less absurd.
By pushing for recognition of a Palestinian state, they seek to cover up their earlier failure while ignoring the brutal reality that Hamas, not Israel, has kept the war alive.
Paris and London’s initiative at the United Nations is largely symbolic, doing nothing to address the real issues:
- The entrenched terrorism of Hamas.
- The absence of functioning governance in Gaza and the West Bank, and . . .
- The refusal of Palestinian leadership to firmly condemn Hamas and to stop paying for Palestinians to "slay" Israelis.
This diplomatic theater grants Hamas a propaganda victory while undermining Israel’s right to self-defense.
France’s internal problems make this stance even more hollow. At major soccer games, crowds often sing the Algerian anthem rather than "La Marseillaise," and Palestinian flags replace French ones.
In cities like Grenoble and Nantes, gang violence is so severe that residents fear going out at night. Unable to maintain public order, the French government prefers posturing abroad — blaming Israel while ignoring chaos at home.
England fares little better. Streets are paralyzed by radicalized mobs, with protests turning violent under the pretext of "solidarity" with Palestine.
Instead of confronting this extremism, London’s leaders amplify a simplistic narrative of Israeli aggression, weakening both domestic security and international credibility.
Norway, Spain, and Ireland have also joined the chorus of premature recognition, hoping to burnish their own diplomatic credentials.
Yet their gestures are no more substantive than those of France and England.
These countries have done nothing to confront Hamas' role in perpetuating violence, nor have they offered serious plans for Palestinian governance or security.
Their recognition efforts are little more than symbolic posturing that emboldens extremists rather than bringing peace closer.
Even more damaging is the obscene global accusation that Israel is committing genocide. This claim, echoed in some legal forums and amplified by anti-Israeli activists, is not only factually false but morally grotesque.
It distorts the reality that Israel is fighting a terror organization that uses its own people as human shields. Such accusations do nothing to protect Palestinian civilians; instead, they delegitimize Israel’s right to defend itself and embolden Hamas to prolong the suffering on both sides.
European countries have also politicized Gaza’s humanitarian crisis.
While malnutrition and suffering are real and troubling, the root cause lies not in Israel’s policies but in Hamas’ sabotage of aid systems.
European leaders refuse to admit that Hamas diverts food, fuel, and medical supplies for military use, while using civilians as human shields.
Rather than supporting efforts to dismantle Hamas' terror network France and England focus on blaming Israel, shielding the perpetrators.
Moreover, solving the Palestinian humanitarian crisis requires confronting an uncomfortable truth: there cannot be three million Palestinians kept indefinitely in refugee camps or living without citizenship in Arab countries.
The Palestinian Authority (PA), a supposed more reliable partner for peace, insists that these people should be "reintegrated" into Israel, a demand that is both unrealistic and unjust.
Israel cannot accept the return of millions of Palestinians without jeopardizing its identity and security as a sovereign nation.
A Palestinian state recognized under current conditions would neither resolve the refugee issue nor bring peace.
True progress requires pragmatic solutions, not symbolic gestures for domestic applause.
Meanwhile, both countries risk alienating their strongest ally — the United States — which insists that recognition must follow the dismantling of terror networks and the creation of stable institutions and economic rebuilding.
France and England’s rush to act risks prolonging the conflict by emboldening Hamas.
Europe’s misplaced priorities are clear.
Rather than addressing internal security, economic stagnation, and rising anti-Semitism, its leaders indulge in empty declarations achieving nothing.
France and England would do better to restore order at home, confront extremism, and work with democratic allies to build the foundations of a lasting peace — one that demands credible Palestinian leadership and a concerted global and regional effort to rebuild Gaza, rather than hollow calls for a "two-state solution" that ignore today’s realities.
Mark L. Cohen practices law and was counsel at White & Case starting in 2001, after serving as international lawyer and senior legal consultant for the French aluminum producer Pechiney. Cohen was a senior consultant at a Ford Foundation Commission, an adviser to the PBS television program "The Advocates," and assistant attorney general in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He teaches U.S. history at the business school in Lille l'EDHEC. Read Mark L. Cohen's Reports — More Here.
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