Why Palestinians Need More than Statehood Recognition | Palestine Policy Roundup 09.29.25
Welcome to the Palestine Policy Roundup, a weekly publication of the IMEU Policy Project.
👀 ICYMI: MEMBERS OF CONGRESS SPEAK OUT
Rep. Delia Ramirez: “The Global Sumud Flotilla was on its way to provide humanitarian assistance to Palestinians. The attacks against them are unacceptable and further evidence that Netanyahu has no intention of ending the siege and letting aid into Gaza. Netanyahu’s atrocities must end. Food must get to Gaza and the bombing must stop. In the face of a genocide, we can must take action and pass my Block the Bombs Act NOW.”
Rep. Robert Garcia: “Each day brings new horrors from Prime Minister Netanyahu. He and his right-wing government continue their attacks and settlement expansion in the West Bank, with no progress toward a ceasefire in Gaza — which I called for almost two years ago. And we are no closer to freeing the hostages. Israel must change course, and we must apply real pressure, which is why I'm supporting H.R. 3565, which would limit the transfer of certain offensive weapons to Israel."
DC DEVELOPMENTS
❌ WHY CONGRESS MUST BLOCK PRESIDENT TRUMP’S LATEST WEAPONS GIVEAWAY TO ISRAEL
Recently, the Trump administration reportedly notified Congress of a $6.5 billion weapons package to Israel which would be funded by US taxpayers. IMEU Policy Project has published a policy memo detailing why Congress must block this latest weapons giveaway as Israel continues its genocidal atrocities in Gaza.
If these weapons transfers proceed, the US will have provided more than $37 billion in weapons to Israel since the start of its genocide in Gaza. This is in violation of international law, US law–including the Arms Export Control Act and Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act–and flies in the face of its obligations under the Genocide Convention to punish and prevent genocide. To bring the US back into compliance with its laws and obligations, Congress must immediately end weapons transfers to Israel.
💡 POLICY ASK: The “Four Corners” should place holds on these informal notifications. Should the Trump administration again circumvent Congressional oversight and advance these weapons deliveries despite objections from the “Four Corners”, then Members of Congress should introduce, cosponsor, and vote for Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRD’s) to block these weapons deliveries.
🚧 TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SINGLES OUT PALESTINIAN ASYLUM APPLICANTS FOR ADDITIONAL SCRUTINY
In yet another move undoubtedly motivated by the Trump administration’s clear anti-Palestinian racism, The Washington Post reports that the Department of Homeland Security is forcing Palestinian asylum applicants, who are already in the country legally, through an additional hurdle. This brazenly unfair obstacle is explicitly being applied to all Palestinian applicants, including those who hold Palestinian Authority (PA) passports, Palestinians who are stateless, and those who hold citizenship in other countries and identify as Palestinian.
According to the report, Palestinians are the only ethnonational group that is being subjected wholesale to this scrutiny. This report comes on the heels of the Trump administration implementing a near-total ban on Palestinians who hold PA travel documents from receiving visas to travel to the US and an indefinite halt on visas issued to Palestinian children injured by Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza so that they can receive medical care in the US.
This blatant discrimination is leaving Palestinian asylum applicants in limbo, and it may be President Trump’s latest step in fulfilling his pledge to bar Palestinian refugees from the US–which he made just days into Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. This news also came the same week that the Trump administration advocated for restricting global asylum rights during the UN General Assembly meetings.
IN THE NEWS
🌐 SEVERAL COUNTRIES ANNOUNCE RECOGNITION OF A PALESTINIAN STATE, BUT PALESTINIANS NEED ACTION
Several countries, including Portugal, Australia, the UK, Canada, France, and more, have announced their recognition of a Palestinian state during the United Nations General Assembly. This brings the total number of countries that recognize a Palestinian state to 157, and leaves the US isolated from some of its closest allies in its opposition to Palestinian sovereignty and full support for Israel’s genocide and occupation.
Recognition of Palestinian statehood as Israel continues its ethnic cleansing in both Gaza and the West Bank is an insufficient gesture: Palestinians need concrete action to accompany it. Meaningful action should include honoring obligations under international law by immediately ending weapons deliveries to Israel and breaking Israel’s siege on Gaza to stop its deliberate and manufactured starvation of Palestinians there.
Meaningful action should also include addressing Israel’s illegal settlements and occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza. In July 2024, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s occupation of those territories is illegal under international law. In its opinion, the court also advised that third states have an obligation to compel Israel to adhere to orders included in the ruling, including the immediate dismantling of its illegal settlements and withdrawal of its military.
States, including the US, can uphold this obligation by sanctioning Israel, including by suspending trade and sanctioning key architects of the illegal settlement project such as Israeli ministers Benjamin Netanyahu, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Bezalel Smotrich. States can also hold individuals and entities accountable for contributing to illegal settlements.
🔑 KEY TAKEAWAY: Mustafa Barghouti, member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, responded to these recognitions of a Palestinian state in The New York Times: “Palestinian freedom cannot be conditioned on Israeli approval. The power disparity between Israelis and Palestinians must be recognized. One of the biggest mistakes of past efforts to make peace was falsely equating the two sides, as if Palestinians have been colonizing Israeli land and systematically dispossessing Israelis for nearly eight decades, rather than the other way around…A new paradigm is needed to address this imbalance and support the people struggling for their freedom, as was done to support the struggle of South Africans against apartheid in their country.”
Palestinians deserve to exercise their right to self-determination, but as a visual explainer published by Reuters demonstrates, Israel is seizing Palestinian land and constructing illegal settlements in the West Bank as a means of preventing Palestinian sovereignty. Just a few weeks ago, Israel approved the E1 settlement project, which will bisect the West Bank and cut off Palestinians’ ability to travel between the northern and southern parts of the occupied territory.
Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu–who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for his culpability in alleged war crimes committed in Gaza–and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have repeatedly rejected the idea of a Palestinian state. Smotrich has even developed a plan for annexing most of the West Bank–which would be illegal under international law.
⚠️ GLOBAL SUMUD FLOTILLA ORGANIZERS ACCUSE ISRAEL OF ATTACKING BOATS AS IT CONTINUES MISSION TO BREAK ISRAEL’S SIEGE
Last Tuesday, the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) accused Israel of attacking its boats as it continued its mission to break Israel’s illegal siege of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians being starved by Israel. According to the GSF, multiple drones swarmed the fleet as it sailed south of Greece in international waters. The organizers also reported that explosions were heard near their boats while their communications were jammed, and that the drones dropped unidentified objects that damaged the boats.
While it is not definitively clear who is responsible for this attack on the flotilla, Israel has escalated its rhetoric against the mission. This has raised concerns that it is planning for a more aggressive–and possibly deadly–response to the mission.
Google users are reportedly being served advertisements that propagandize against the GSF, which were paid for by the Israeli government. This reporting comes weeks after it was revealed that Google has a $45 million contract with the Israeli prime minister’s office to whitewash its genocidal atrocities in Gaza. Additionally, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has vowed to detain volunteers with the mission.
Israel has already illegally boarded two other missions focused on breaking Israel’s blockade and reportedly attacked a third according to its organizers. Additionally, in 2010 Israel killed a US citizen, Furkan Doğan, and nine others when it illegally raided the Mavi Marmara, part of a flotilla mission, while it was in international waters.
In response to the latest attacks on the GSF, Italy and Spain have sent naval patrol vessels to provide assistance and possible rescue. The international community, including the US, has a responsibility to ensure the safe passage of the flotilla and to break Israel’s illegal and near-total blockade on the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
PALESTINE/ISRAEL DEVELOPMENTS
📚 ISRAEL CONTINUES RELENTLESS BOMBING IN GAZA CITY, KILLS BELOVED ENGLISH TEACHER
As Israel continues its ground invasion of Gaza City, it also is continuing its relentless bombing campaign there that started long before Israeli soldiers and vehicles arrived. Last week, Israel bombed the home of Ghada Rabah–who was the English teacher at the Holy Family Catholic school, where hundreds of Palestinians are sheltering–partially destroying the building and burying her and her brother under the rubble.
Ghada survived under the rubble for two days and called relatives for help, but Israeli soldiers reportedly prevented rescue workers from attempting to save her. After two days, they found Ghada’s home completely reduced to rubble following a second Israeli strike. They were unable to find her body.
🔑 KEY TAKEAWAY: Ali Tawil, a medical doctor from Gaza, said of Ghada and her killing by Israel: “She was a true human being before being a teacher, a symbol of elegance, a source of beauty, a beacon of literature, and a cradle of knowledge…Today, I mourn you, my teacher. In fact, I mourn myself in you. How much I loved you, your kindness, your smile, and your generosity. You were a light in everything. With your loss, we have lost so much.”
There are thousands more untold stories like Ghada’s. As of April 2025, there are more than 11,000 Palestinians trapped under the rubble of their homes, schools, and other buildings, as Israel has sought to flatten Gaza. Efforts to rescue Palestinians trapped under rubble have been thwarted not only by forced displacement orders issued by the Israeli military, but also by Israel’s targeting of heavy machinery that is used to clear rubble.
The Israeli military is continuing to flatten Gaza City as it invades the area. Last Monday, 25 members of the same family were killed when Israel attacked their homes in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City. That attack reportedly left 50 people trapped under rubble. Later in the week, Israel bombed an area where displaced Palestinians were sheltering, killing at least 20.
Photo: Chomna N, via Shutterstock. Stock Photo ID: 1690386943