Humanitarian catastrophe in Palestinian enclave, recognition of Palestinian state driving a surge in global opposition to Israel
As Israel presses ahead with its nearly two-year-long offensive on Gaza, leading Israeli experts are warning that the country is facing unprecedented diplomatic, political, and societal backlash globally, raising concerns about deepening international isolation.
Prominent former diplomats, academics, and analysts told Anadolu that the ongoing attacks and resulting humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza are driving a surge in global opposition to Israel, including formal recognition of Palestinian statehood by several countries.
- Mounting backlash across the globe
International criticism of Israel has intensified in recent months, particularly in response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Spain, Norway, Ireland, and Slovenia officially recognized the state of Palestine in 2024.
France will follow suit, with President Emmanuel Macron recently announcing that Paris is set to recognize Palestine in September.
Public backlash has extended beyond governments, with Israeli tourists increasingly being confronted abroad.
In a recent incident, a pro-Palestinian group in Greece prevented a cruise ship carrying Israeli passengers from disembarking on the island of Syros.
Videos circulating on social media show Israeli travelers facing protests and hostility in multiple countries.
- 'Recognition by France and Britain will come as shock to Israeli public'
Alon Liel, former charge d'affaires at Israel’s Embassy in Ankara and former secretary of the Foreign Ministry, described the international developments as a turning point.
"A year ago, Spain, Norway, Ireland, and Slovenia did it, but now it came to the point that France is doing it. I welcome it very much. I think it's extremely important.
"And if Great Britain and Canada and Australia will join, much better, of course," he told Anadolu.
Liel said that while Israel withdrew ambassadors from countries that recognized Palestine — going so far as to shut its Embassy in Ireland — it would not be able to do the same with major allies like the UK or Canada.
"The important thing is if the public will be noticing it and will be affected by it," he stressed.
"I think the recognition by France and Britain will come as a shock to the Israeli public because these are two of the five permanent members of the Security Council.
"This can bring things closer to a full membership of Palestine in the UN. Of course, the Americans can veto it, but I don't know for how long they can veto it."
He argued that Western governments are recognizing Palestine as a substitute for sanctions against Israel.
"But they don't have the ability to do it. It's too risky for them, security-wise, intelligence-wise, economic-wise. So they go for a softer protest to what Israel is doing in Gaza in the form of recognition of Palestine," Liel said.
Though symbolic, he believes such recognition lifts Palestinian morale and delivers "a blow to the Israeli public."
"It's very difficult for us now to travel abroad. Look at Greece. We had tourists that could not embark the ship that they came with.
"We had youngsters in Athens that were beaten. It's happening now all over the world. So Israelis start realizing that 'what we do in Gaza is unacceptable internationally. It will cost us in our ability to travel. It will cost us mainly in the future, also in the isolation of the country, and maybe economically'."
He added that while Israeli strikes on Iran were initially met with international support, that dissipated quickly.
"As long as the war will go on with these pictures of starving children in Gaza, the tsunami will get stronger and Israel will become more isolated."
"But I think it will end when the US will see that it is paying a price, an international price for backing Israel in the Middle East, in Europe, and the rest of the world. As long as Trump doesn't feel that he pays a price, he will support us," Liel warned.
Regarding Syria, Liel said American pressure had curbed Israel’s military activities there and even led to secret talks between Syrian and Israeli officials in France.
- 'They don't hate Israel. They do hate occupation'
Nadav Tamir, a former adviser to late Israeli President Shimon Peres and current director at the US-based liberal Jewish lobbying group J Street, argued that Palestinian statehood would benefit Israel morally and strategically.
He expressed hope that France would push the recognition issue to the UN Security Council.
"I'm convinced Trump not to veto it because I believe that there is a consensus among other 14 members of the Security Council to recognize Palestine if the US will not block it," he said.
Tamir acknowledged, however, that Israeli retaliation often intensifies when external pressure increases.
"That was kind of the instinct of the right-wing government to show that when we're being pressured from the outside, we will do counter things that will actually make a Palestinian state less possible.
"There is a clear attempt by this government to push all the Palestinians from Area C (Israeli-occupied territory in West Bank) and to make the Palestinian life in other areas harder and harder.
"So I don't think that on the ground it will change much because what they're already doing is bad enough, but it will be more declarative."
As many as 147 countries already recognize Palestine, but recognition from Security Council powers such as France and the UK, Tamir said, has a far greater impact.
"I think Israel's international standing is deteriorating every day that the tragedy in Gaza continues and this senseless war continues.
"You see it now from places that we haven't seen it before, that used to be considered pro-Israel or pro-the Netanyahu government," he said. "Now, many Israelis will say, oh, the world is antisemitic, the world hates us. I have connections with also people in civil societies in Europe, they don't hate Israel. They do hate the occupation."
He said "the criticism over what's happening in Gaza now, unfortunately, the West Bank doesn't get much coverage, but there's also atrocities there. This is the main reason why Israel's standing is deteriorating."
Tamir warned that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is indifferent to international opinion as long as US President Donald Trump supports him.
- Government focused only on survival and ideology
Professor Eyal Zisser, vice rector at Tel Aviv University, said there is outsized influence of the US in shaping international responses.
He said the most significant reaction to France’s recognition of Palestine came from Trump, who dismissed the move as it "doesn’t carry any weight."
Zisser predicted that other Western nations might follow France if Israel’s Gaza offensive, which has already killed more than 59,000 people since October 2023, continues.
"Some more countries might join the French initiative, but once again, it will not change anything on the ground, because Israel is the occupier, it has the control, and the Americans are those who have a real influence over the Israeli policy."
He warned that Israel’s actions in Gaza are deepening its global isolation.
"It leads to the destruction of the democratic nature of Israel, to the destruction of the state institution, and of course, this lunatic policy also creates many problems," Zisser said.
"You mentioned the isolation of Israel, the image of Israel, its relation with the world, its relation with Arab countries, but this government is focusing on its political survival and political consideration, also maybe ideological consideration, lunatic ideological consideration of those who motivated it."
The academic also criticized Israel’s military actions in Syria, saying: "It didn't help anything. It was not a wise decision to intervene and it was not the right move."
