The Hypocrisy of France, Canada, and the UK et al on Palestinian Statehood

With the declared intent of France, Canada, and the United Kingdom -- among other nations -- to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state at this year's UN General Assembly, they are not acting out of principle or a genuine belief in self-determination. Rather, they are engaging in a dangerous hypocrisy, one that ignores their own internal struggles with separatist movements while demanding that Israel accept a far greater risk: the creation of a state that could actively endanger its very survival.

Let's do a quick review:

France: Colonial Blindness

France still clings to territories like Corsica, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, and French Guiana, where independence movements exist but do not threaten French cities with rockets or terrorism. Despite multiple referenda in New Caledonia, Paris resists full independence. Yet France dares to lecture Israel, demanding that it hand over territory to an entity whose ruling factions openly celebrate terrorism and whose backers in Iran and Hezbollah call for Israel’s destruction.

France lectures Israel about self-determination while denying independence to Corsicans and clinging to colonial possessions like New Caledonia. How can a colonial power that still holds overseas territories preach about ending occupation?

Canada: Selective Morality

Canada has faced two referenda on Quebec independence, and while Quebec is peaceful, Ottawa has resisted separation at every turn. At the same time, Indigenous nations across Canada continue to demand sovereignty and self-determination, yet remain under federal control. None of these groups fire rockets at Ottawa or Toronto. None pose an existential threat to Canada. And yet, Canada calls on Israel to grant statehood to a Palestinian entity that does glorify violence, reject peace, and endanger lives.

Canada won’t grant full sovereignty to Quebec or its Indigenous nations—none of which threaten Canadian cities with rockets. Yet it supports a Palestinian state that glorifies violence and rejects Israel’s right to exist. Is that principled foreign policy, or just convenient hypocrisy?

United Kingdom: Empire’s Double Standards

The UK faces unresolved questions in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Gibraltar, and the Falklands. These disputes simmer, but they do not involve existential threats to London. Scotland holds referenda peacefully. Northern Ireland’s conflict has cooled but never posed the destruction of Britain itself. Meanwhile, the UK insists that Israel must embrace a Palestinian state that would place Iranian-supplied rockets within minutes of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. This is not simply hypocrisy—it is willful blindness.

The UK—still entangled in the unresolved legacies of empire, from Scotland to Northern Ireland to the Falklands—has no moral authority to dictate terms to Israel. Before demanding a Palestinian state, perhaps it should respect the will of peoples under its own flag. And unlike those peaceful movements, a Palestinian state would place Iranian rockets a stone’s throw from our heartland.

The Core Difference

This is the essential point: Corsica is not firing rockets on Paris. Quebec is not building terror tunnels into Ottawa. Scotland is not calling for the destruction of London. But the Palestinian leadership in Gaza and the West Bank actively incites violence, funds terrorism, and partners with Iran and Hezbollah. Demanding that Israel accept this as a state is not comparable to any of these Western examples—it is incomparable in its recklessness and moral blindness.

Self-determination cannot come at the expense of another people’s right to exist. France, Canada, and the UK defend their own territorial integrity against peaceful separatist movements. Israel defends itself against existential threats. If the West cannot see the difference, then its moral compass is not just compromised, it is forever broken.

Final Thought

If Paris, Ottawa, and London truly believe in self-determination, they should apply it at home first. And if they value security, they should respect Israel’s need for it more than they respect their own convenience. Until then, their recognition of a Palestinian state is not an act of justice, but an act of dangerous hypocrisy.