The train to a Palestinian state is moving. Will Israel be left at the station?

Nadav Tamir argues that American recognition of a Palestinian state is imminent, and that Israeli refusal will not stop the process but only prevent Israel from influencing its terms. He calls on the new government to adopt a proactive policy.

Nadav Tamir, CEO of J Street Israel and former Consul General in Boston, argues in an opinion piece that American recognition of a Palestinian state is closer than ever. According to him, by January 2027, President Trump will face a Democratic Congress unable to advance a domestic agenda, and may return to his 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza, which includes a horizon for establishing a Palestinian state. Tamir warns that Israeli refusal will not stop the process, but only prevent Israel from influencing its terms. He calls on the designated Prime Minister Gadi Eisenkot to adopt a proactive policy that combines a Palestinian state with security arrangements, reforms in the Palestinian Authority, and regional normalization. The author notes that Netanyahu himself previously supported the American plan that includes a political horizon, and that his policy actually advanced international recognition of a Palestinian state. The column concludes by arguing that American recognition of a Palestinian state is a distinctly pro-Zionist move.