Why can’t Palestinians simply have their own country?

Palestinians have a recognised right to self-determination, but they do not currently have full control over a sovereign, independent state.

Palestine is recognised as a state by many countries and has non-member observer-state status at the UN. But the territory intended for a Palestinian state remains fragmented.

Israel occupies the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Israeli settlements have expanded across it. Gaza and the West Bank are physically separated. Palestinians also do not have normal sovereign control over things such as borders, airspace and movement between their territories.

There are also unresolved questions about borders, Jerusalem, Israeli security, Palestinian refugees and Palestinian political divisions.

Attempts to negotiate a two-state solution have repeatedly failed.

In 2024, the International Court of Justice concluded that Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful and that its policies obstruct the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.

So the problem is not simply that nobody has thought of giving Palestinians a country. Palestinians’ right to their own state has been discussed internationally for decades; the dispute is over how that right becomes a reality on the ground.