⭕️ Former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that while many Western countries plan to recognize a Palestinian state in September with good intentions, they are approaching the issue incorrectly.

“With the Gaza crisis still unfolding, this focus on recognition seems totally beside the more pressing realities. Amid the suffering of Palestinian civilians and Israeli hostages—and Israel’s announced plan to occupy all or part of the enclave—averting famine, recovering the hostages and ending the conflict in Gaza are the priorities. Talk of two states can wait,” he wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.

Blinken noted that Israel has accomplished two of its three war objectives in Gaza. However, he says freeing the Israeli captives in Gaza “is unlikely to be met by fully occupying Gaza,” and Israel “has failed to develop a plan to withdraw from Gaza and prevent Hamas from taking over again.