[Ramallah] At least 10 more countries could recognize the State of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in September, Palestinian Authority (PA) Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Dr. Varsen Aghabekian said Wednesday.
Speaking to Arabic and foreign media during a closed-door briefing at her Ramallah headquarters, Aghabekian said the PA is in active discussions with these states and aims to secure their support ahead of the UN gathering.
“We continue our diplomatic and political efforts, holding dialogues and discussions with decision-making centers in various countries and components of the international community to stop genocide, displacement, and annexation, and to push the world to fulfill its responsibilities in implementing United Nations resolutions on the Palestinian issue,” she told reporters.
We are working with similar states and encouraging them to take similar steps
The PA welcomed the recent wave of announcements from governments recognizing the State of Palestine, the latest being Australia. According to Aghabekian, eight countries have already declared recognition: the United Kingdom, France, San Marino, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, and Malta. “We are working with similar states and encouraging them to take similar steps,” she added. “There are 10 others that will hopefully be doing that soon.”
International legal experts stress that recognition alone does not automatically confer statehood. “You can have 100 countries saying the earth is flat and that won’t make it true,” said Arsen Ostrovsky, an Israeli human rights lawyer and CEO of the International Legal Forum, speaking to The Media Line [1] after France’s announcement last month. Legal criteria for statehood include defined borders, the capacity for formal diplomatic relations, and a commitment to peace.
Aghabekian said her ministry has formed a task force to follow up with states that have recognized or plan to recognize Palestine, and with the United Nations. A high-level committee under President Mahmoud Abbas is overseeing the effort. The initiative follows a late July General Assembly conference co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, which produced a resolution supporting a two-state solution. Countries have until September to endorse the measure. The UN has reported “overwhelming support” for the plan.
The task force has appointed ambassadors to lobby governments to adopt the New York Declaration and identify ways for states to support its implementation financially or otherwise. Aghabekian emphasized that any future Palestinian state would be demilitarized. “If we have peace with our neighbors, that is something we recognize,” she said. “Soft weapons to keep peace and security throughout would be there, but not anything of strong weaponry used in forging wars and the like.”
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Soft weapons to keep peace and security throughout would be there, but not anything of strong weaponry used in forging wars and the like
Israel’s government and parliament remain opposed. In July 2024, the Knesset voted 68-9 to reject the creation of a Palestinian state. Some ministers have called it an “existential threat” to Israel.
On Gaza’s future, Aghabekian said the PA is preparing to take over governance after the war with Hamas ends. A transitional committee, coordinated with the international community, would oversee administration. “We have a comprehensive vision for this day,” she said, noting that Abbas and the PA have adopted a plan for political and legal authority over Gaza based on “one state, one government, one law, and one legitimate weapon.”
She stressed the need to counter Israeli narratives about “the day after” the war, ensure aid reaches residents, and launch a political process to resolve the conflict “by official political means.” Asked by The Media Line about “helicoptering” a government into Gaza, she said any transition would be under the auspices of the Arab and Islamic worlds.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected PA governance of Gaza, saying neither Hamas nor the PA will rule there. He has proposed creating a new civil administration with international backing.
While statehood remains the PA’s goal, Aghabekian said an immediate ceasefire is essential to ease suffering in Gaza and to secure the release of about 50 Israeli hostages—both dead and alive—held by Hamas. “Hamas is to have no role in governance and must hand over its weapons to the Palestinian security forces; these weapons are not to be part of governance,” she said. “Palestine is not to be an armed state. There must be a full Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza and we will work with international partners for early recovery and reconstruction, preparation for Palestinian elections, and an end to unilateral steps that violate international law, including settlement building, annexation, settler violence, and damage to Palestinian and Christian holy sites.”
Aghabekian suggested that US President Donald Trump could lead peace talks, paving the way for regional peace with moderate Arab states. In 2020, Israel signed the Abraham Accords with the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Bahrain without resolving the Palestinian question. Saudi Arabia has said it will normalize relations only if there is a credible path to Palestinian statehood.
President Trump wants to be nominated for a peace prize; we hope he does, hopefully by solving our peace problem
There has been no direct contact with the Trump administration, she said, though the PA is working “to get our voice to President Trump and the people around Trump making decisions in the US.” She added, “President Trump wants to be nominated for a peace prize; we hope he does, hopefully by solving our peace problem.”
The PA has also had no direct discussions with Israel, she confirmed. The briefing came days after the IDF struck a tent near the main entrance to Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital, where journalists were staying. Six were killed, including Al Jazeera correspondent Anas Al-Sharif. Aghabekian condemned “the crime of targeting journalists committed by Israeli occupation forces. … Targeting journalists is a crime against humanity punishable by international law.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says around 200 journalists and media workers have been killed in the war since October 7, 2023—more than double the number killed during World War II, the Vietnam War, or the recent war in Ukraine, Aghabekian claimed.
But unlike casualty figures from earlier wars, the roughly 200 journalists reported killed in the Israel-Hamas conflict did not all die while on assignment or directly because of their press duties. CPJ says 26 were directly targeted and killed as journalists by Israeli forces, while another 20 deaths under investigation may also involve targeting. Many others were killed in broader military strikes, and not necessarily while actively reporting.
The IDF released intelligence alleging Al-Sharif had direct ties to Hamas, including personnel rosters, training records, telephone directories, and payroll documents listing him on Hamas’ salary list. “What we have presented publicly is only a small, declassified portion of our intelligence on Al-Sharif leading up to the strike,” IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani wrote on X. “For some reason, the media is ignoring information presented by us because Al-Sharif has said he is not a terrorist. ‘Trust me, I am not a terrorist’ apparently works if you are against Israel. Will the world honestly check before reporting? Will there be criticism of Hamas’ exploitation of the press? Will anyone criticize Al Jazeera for employing terrorists?”
Aghabekian rejected the allegation. “Everyone believes what Israel says,” she told The Media Line. “For Israel, everyone in Gaza is a terrorist. Al-Sharif is not an exception.”