What It Means to Be a State (France and Palestine)
Peter Zeihan
3 min
External recognition of Palestine as a state achieves nothing because it lacks contiguous territory, unified government, defined borders, and economic independence. A solution to the Palestinian problem starts with talks with the Israeli government because Israel holds functional veto power.
Chapters
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0:00
Requirements for Statehood
A country requires a permanent contiguous population, defined borders, a government projecting power, and a supporting economy. Palestine fails because it is split into Gaza and the West Bank, which are further divided into dozens of disconnected pieces. There is no single government as Fatah controls the West Bank while Hamas controls Gaza.
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1:25
Undefined Borders
Borders are technically on maps but ineffective because Israel controls all territory between them. Palestine imports over 95% of its energy and food, making independence impossible without external funding. A solution requires talks with Israel because both sides depend on each other for survival. External recognition achieves nothing because Israel holds the functional veto power over any solution.
Key points
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To be a country, you have to have a permanent contiguous population.
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A country must have clearly defined borders.
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A government must project power throughout the zone.
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An economy must support the population.
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Palestine is not one chunk of territory but split into two.
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The West Bank and Gaza are divided into dozens of disconnected pieces.
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There is no single government as Fatah controls the West Bank enclaves.
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Hamas controls the Gaza Strip while being at war with Israel.
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Israel controls all territory between the Palestinian enclaves.
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Palestine imports well over 95% of its energy and food.
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No version works unless it is done hand in glove with the Israeli government.
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Having somebody on the outside saying that the Palestinians are a thing achieves nothing.
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