Recognising Palestine

Israel and a chorus of lawyers are waving the Montevideo Convention like it’s holy scripture, insisting Palestine can’t be recognised because it doesn’t tick all four boxes. Permanent population? Tick. Defined territory? Tick – albeit with Israel doing its best to redraw it with a bulldozer. Government? Tick‑ish – but if the world waited for every state to have a spotless, unified government, Somalia would still be a blank space on the map. The final hurdle – the ability to conduct international relations – is the one they pounce on.

But here’s the awkward question that knocks the legs off their lectern: what if the reason Palestine struggles to exercise that capacity is because Israel keeps its foot on Palestine’s neck? That turns the Montevideo argument into farce. It says, “You can’t be a state until you can behave like one,” while ensuring you can’t behave like one. That’s not law – that’s a rigged game.

And let’s pause on this word Convention. A convention isn’t a thunderbolt from the heavens or some stone tablet handed down by the Almighty. It’s a treaty – an agreement between states to play by a shared set of rules, usually drafted to bring a semblance of order to the international free‑for‑all. Montevideo wasn’t meant to be weaponised against peoples struggling for self‑determination; it was meant to help clarify when statehood exists, not block it.

Because if Israel’s interpretation held sway, any occupying power could smother a nation into permanent limbo simply by refusing to let go. That precedent is grotesque. Picture Britain in the 1950s telling Kenya it wasn’t “ready” to be a state – and then using that as the excuse to keep its flag flying forever.

The reality is plain: Palestine has people, land, and functioning government structures, however imperfect. It’s already engaging with most of the world. The only reason it doesn’t fully meet every Montevideo test is because Israel is making sure of that.

So yes, lawyers can wave the text like a fig leaf. But the spirit of Montevideo? That says statehood isn’t meant to be something an occupier can crush just by keeping its boot pressed down long enough.