Former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urges a three-year, conditions-based plan for Palestinian statehood to end the Gaza war, secure Israel’s future, and block Hamas’s agenda.
Former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called for a “time-bound, conditions-based” pathway to recognizing a Palestinian state — one designed to end the Gaza conflict, safeguard Israel’s security, and deliver a crushing blow to Hamas’s violent strategy.
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed published Monday, Blinken rebuked recent moves by France, the UK, Canada, and Australia to recognize a Palestinian state this September, calling such gestures “morally right” but misaligned with the urgent priorities on the ground.
“Averting famine, recovering the hostages, and ending the conflict in Gaza are the priorities. Talk of two states can wait,” Blinken wrote.
The Blinken Plan: Conditions First, Recognition Later
Blinken’s proposal would give Palestinian leaders three years to meet strict requirements before statehood recognition — including:
- Disarming all terror groups
- Cutting ties with Iran
- Reforming the Palestinian Authority
- Banning militias and militarization
The UN Security Council would monitor compliance, with the US veto ensuring Israeli concerns are addressed. Direct Israeli–Palestinian negotiations on borders, security, and Jerusalem would continue in parallel.
Link to Saudi Normalization
Blinken stressed that a credible statehood process could encourage Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and pave the way for normalization with Saudi Arabia — a move he called “a goal many Israelis desire.” He noted Riyadh has made ending the Gaza conflict and advancing a real pathway to Palestinian statehood a condition for peace with Israel.
A Direct Challenge to Hamas
Calling Hamas “a decades-long saboteur of peace,” Blinken argued that a conditional plan would be “the ultimate rebuke to its agenda of death and destruction.” He warned that unconditional recognition would only embolden extremists on both sides — “fortifying proponents of terror among Palestinians and rejectionists of statehood among Israelis.”
Demands for Israeli Steps
While outlining Palestinian obligations, Blinken also pressed Israel to improve its peace posture by:
- Halting settlement expansion and outpost legalization
- Stopping home demolitions in Palestinian areas
- Prosecuting extremist settler violence
- Respecting the status quo on holy sites
He cautioned that undermining the Palestinian Authority “lets Israel claim it has no negotiating partner.”
Shared Future, Shared Land
Blinken closed with a reminder of the region’s unchanging reality:
“Seven million Israeli Jews, two million Israeli Arabs, and some five million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza are rooted in the same region. No one is going anywhere.”
His message: Both peoples must reject extremism and commit to coexistence — or risk perpetuating an endless cycle of conflict.
