US considering recognizing Palestinian statehood: Report

The Biden administration is considering recognizing Palestinian statehood, two US officials said, according to a report published on Wednesday.

After the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the ensuing Israeli bombardment of Gaza, Washington has once again stated that the only way forward would be a two-state solution.

Countries in the Middle East have also said Palestinian statehood would be a prerequisite for establishing diplomatic ties with Israel. The current Israeli government under Benjamin Netanyahu has vehemently rejected calls for giving Palestinians a state.

“Efforts to find a diplomatic way out of the war in Gaza has opened the door for rethinking a lot of old US paradigms and policies,” according to a senior US official who spoke to Axios.

Axios also cited the senior US official as saying that some officials in the Biden administration believe that recognizing Palestine might need to be the first step in negotiations to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

When asked about the report, a National Security Council spokesperson told Al Arabiya English: “It has been longstanding US policy that any recognition of a Palestinian state must come through direct negotiations between the parties rather than through unilateral recognition at the UN. That policy has not changed.”

The report comes just days after British Foreign Secretary David Cameron suggested the UK could soon recognize a Palestinian state.