The 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly witnessed a new wave of recognition of the State of Palestine in an effort to demonstrate international support and mount pressure on Israel to stop the war in Gaza, but it fails to translate into any tangible change on the ground, despite the political symbolism of this development.

Since 1967, Resolution 242 marked a turning point in the Arab-Israeli conflict as it called for Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied territories in exchange for peace. Nonetheless, the expansion of settlements since then has led to the erosion of the West Bank and its fragmentation into a fragile political and economic entity.

In 1993, the Oslo Accords established, for the first time, a framework for mutual recognition and the establishment of a transitional Palestinian Authority. Yet, the agreement was poorly implemented and, over time, turned into a mechanism for managing the crisis rather than resolving it. As time went by, the agreement further deteriorated: the number of settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem increased by 181% from its signing until the end of 2024, while the number of settlements rose by 22%.

Today, with 159 out of 193 UN member states recognizing the State of Palestine, this recognition remains more symbolic than real. Just as previous UN resolutions and the Oslo Accords remained ink on paper, the same pattern is repeating with these new recognitions, while settlement expansion continues and Israeli control deepens.

Given Israel’s declared position that “there will be no Palestinian state west of the river,” a Palestinian state remains a deferred project, confined to international speeches rather than to the realities on the ground.