NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • Deloitte Fast 50
    • Generate wealth weekly
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

Gazans hail, Israelis condemn Western recognition of Palestinian state

AFP
21 Sep, 2025 06:33 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Displaced Palestinians move with their belongings southwards on a road in the Nuseirat refugee camp area in the central Gaza Strip. Photo / Eyad Baba, AFP

Displaced Palestinians move with their belongings southwards on a road in the Nuseirat refugee camp area in the central Gaza Strip. Photo / Eyad Baba, AFP

Recognition of a Palestinian state by Britain, Canada and Australia has drawn sharply contrasting reactions, with Palestinians in Gaza hailing it as a sign of hope while Israelis voiced anger and concern.

In Gaza, many saw the recognition as an affirmation of their existence after nearly two years of war between Hamas and Israel.

“We shouldn’t just be numbers in the news,” said Salwa Mansour, 35, displaced from Rafah to Al-Mawasi, which the Israeli military has declared a humanitarian zone.

“This recognition shows that the world is finally starting to hear our voice and that in itself is a moral victory.

“Despite all the pain, death and massacres we’re living through, we cling to anything that brings even the smallest bit of hope,” she added.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Britain and Canada became the first members of the Group of Seven advanced economies to take the step to recognise a Palestinian state in a bid to pressure Israel to end the war in Gaza.

In an effort to seize Gaza City, the territory’s largest urban centre, the Israeli military has recently intensified its air assaults and launched a major ground offensive.

So far more than 550,000 people have fled the city and moved southward, the military said on Sunday.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

On Sunday, at least 32 people were killed in Gaza City in Israeli strikes, according to the territory’s civil defence agency, a rescue force operating under Hamas authority.

Mohammed Abu Khousa, a resident of Deir el-Balah, said he hoped that other countries would also follow suit in recognising a Palestinian state.

“When a country like Britain and Canada recognise us, it chips away at Israel’s legitimacy and gives our cause a new spark of hope,” he said.

“This could push more countries to recognise us, and hopefully bring an end to the war.”

Displaced Palestinians move with their belongings southwards on a road in the Nuseirat refugee camp area in the central Gaza Strip. Photo / Eyad Baba, AFP
Displaced Palestinians move with their belongings southwards on a road in the Nuseirat refugee camp area in the central Gaza Strip. Photo / Eyad Baba, AFP

‘Not enough’

But not all Palestinians were positive about the decision, with some expressing scepticism over its ultimate outcome.

Recognition alone “is not enough, because there are countries that have previously recognised Palestine. They recognised years ago, but it did not lead to any results”, said Mohammed Azzam, a resident of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

“On the contrary, every day the settlers’ attacks increase, the killing increases, the arrests increase, the raids and thefts increase, and the checkpoints fill the entire West Bank.

“They have cut off the West Bank, its cities and villages. Even if the European countries recognised [Palestine], in reality this does not help us at all.”

Following the move on Sunday by Britain, Canada and Australia, far-right Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir both called for the annexation of the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, in contravention of international law.

Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, violence has soared in the West Bank, and Israel has expanded settlements throughout the Palestinian territory.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Israel has pummelled Gaza City with air strikes and tank fire in its bid to seize it, nearly two years into the war that has devastated the Palestinian territory and left Gaza City gripped by a UN-declared famine. Photo / Eyad Baba, AFP
Israel has pummelled Gaza City with air strikes and tank fire in its bid to seize it, nearly two years into the war that has devastated the Palestinian territory and left Gaza City gripped by a UN-declared famine. Photo / Eyad Baba, AFP

‘Bitterness’

In Jerusalem, Israelis saw the move as dangerous and premature.

“I don’t feel that a terrorism place like Gaza, where even their own people don’t get what they need, should be a country,” said Tamar Lomonosov, a resident of Beit Shemesh.

“They’re just trying to find a solution to kill and fight with Israel.”

Muriel Amar, a 62-year-old Franco-Israeli who was speaking before France’s own planned recognition, warned that the move would ignore key realities, including the fate of hostages still held in Gaza.

“As long as they haven’t returned home, I don’t see how we can consider turning the page,” she said.

“It would also be a confirmation for terrorist groups like Hamas that they are in the right, and it would cause… bitterness on the Israeli side.”

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

The attack resulted in the deaths of 1219 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

During their attack Palestinian militants also took 251 hostages, of which 47 still remain in Gaza, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead.

Since then Israel’s retaliatory military response has killed at least 65,283 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, figures which the United Nations finds reliable.

‘Palestinian victory’

A senior Hamas official has hailed Britain, Canada and Australia’s recognition of a Palestinian state, describing it as a victory for the rights of Palestinians.

“These developments represent a victory for Palestinian rights and the justice of our cause, and send a clear message: no matter how far the occupation goes in its crimes, it will never be able to erase our national rights,” senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi told AFP.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Hamas said the recognition must be accompanied by “practical measures”.

These, it said, should include an immediate halt to “the genocidal war being waged against our people in the Gaza Strip and confronting the ongoing annexation and judaisation projects in the West Bank and Jerusalem”.

-Agence France-Presse

Save
    Share this article

Latest from World

Analysis

'I'm not a doctor': Trump's autism announcement gives Covid flashbacks

23 Sep 03:27 AM
World

World’s oldest person celebrates 116th with visit from King Charles

23 Sep 03:00 AM
World

Antifa: Who are they and is there an overall group?

23 Sep 02:09 AM

Sponsored

Poor sight leaving kids vulnerable

22 Sep 01:23 AM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

'I'm not a doctor': Trump's autism announcement gives Covid flashbacks
Analysis

'I'm not a doctor': Trump's autism announcement gives Covid flashbacks

Analysis: Trump urged pregnant women to avoid Tylenol despite no medical evidence.

23 Sep 03:27 AM
World’s oldest person celebrates 116th with visit from King Charles
World

World’s oldest person celebrates 116th with visit from King Charles

23 Sep 03:00 AM
Antifa: Who are they and is there an overall group?
World

Antifa: Who are they and is there an overall group?

23 Sep 02:09 AM


Poor sight leaving kids vulnerable
Sponsored

Poor sight leaving kids vulnerable

22 Sep 01:23 AM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP