US Must Recognize Palestine Amid Gaza Starvation Horror, Says Jill Stein
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The U.S. must immediately follow French President Emmanuel Macron's lead and recognize a Palestinian state as a "famine-made-in-Israel" sweeps Gaza, Jill Stein has said.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza has deteriorated in recent months, with mounting international pressure on Israel and warnings of mass starvation. Images released last week of emaciated children have shocked the world.
"Of course Palestine deserves statehood, as long declared by the United Nations," Stein told Newsweek. "But this is not the first order of business as famine-made-in-Israel sweeps the Gaza Strip. Israel is conducting the fastest starvation campaign in modern history, according to the U.N. Rapporteur on Food. Over 2 million lives are in immediate peril, over half of them children."
Hidaya, a 31-year-old Palestinian mother, carries her sick 18-month-old son Mohammed al-Mutawaq, who is also displaying signs of malnutrition, inside their tent at the Al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, on July 24, 2025....
Hidaya, a 31-year-old Palestinian mother, carries her sick 18-month-old son Mohammed al-Mutawaq, who is also displaying signs of malnutrition, inside their tent at the Al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, on July 24, 2025. More than 100 aid organizations and human rights groups warned on July 23, that "mass starvation" was spreading in Gaza, as the United States said its top envoy was heading to Europe for talks on a possible ceasefire and aid corridor. More
OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty Images
The Green Party 2024 presidential candidate said the crisis "is the intended consequence of Israel's genocidal ban blocking food, water, electricity and fuel from reaching the 'human animals' of Gaza, as announced by then Defense Minister Gallant in October 2023 and ramped up 80 days ago."
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has denied what it called "the false claim of deliberate starvation" in Gaza. On Sunday, the Israeli military began a limited pause in fighting in three parts of Gaza for 10 hours a day as part of a series of measures announced to address the humanitarian crisis.
Israel said the military carried out several aid airdrops into Gaza over the weekend and would establish humanitarian corridors.
Naeema, a 30-year-old Palestinian mother, carries her malnourished 2-year-old son Yazan as they stand in their damaged home in the Al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, on July 23, 2025. More than 100 aid...
Naeema, a 30-year-old Palestinian mother, carries her malnourished 2-year-old son Yazan as they stand in their damaged home in the Al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, on July 23, 2025. More than 100 aid organizations and human rights groups warned on Wednesday that "mass starvation" was spreading in Gaza, as the United States said its top envoy was heading to Europe for talks on a possible ceasefire and aid corridor. More
OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty Images
Why It Matters
Palestinians have long campaigned for an independent state comprising the occupied West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza. Israel has occupied these territories since the 1967 Six-Day War.
Israel is largely opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state, and even more so after the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attack by Hamas militants, which left around 1,200 people dead and 251 taken hostage.
Israel's subsequent war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 59,000 Palestinians, over half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
Israel has restricted aid into Gaza, stating, without evidence, that Hamas was using shipments to bolster its position. It has also accused the U.N. of failing to cooperate on the distribution of aid.
The World Food Program warned in a statement that a third of Gaza's population of around 2 million were not eating for days. It said that nearly half a million people were enduring famine-like conditions.
Mohammed al-Mutawaq, an 18-month-old Palestinian boy suffering from medical issues and displaying signs of malnutrition, lies on a mattress inside a tent in the Al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, on July 24, 2025....
Mohammed al-Mutawaq, an 18-month-old Palestinian boy suffering from medical issues and displaying signs of malnutrition, lies on a mattress inside a tent in the Al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, on July 24, 2025. More than 100 aid organizations and human rights groups warned on July 23, that "mass starvation" was spreading in Gaza, as the United States said its top envoy was heading to Europe for talks on a possible ceasefire and aid corridor. More
OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty Images
What to Know
Macron announced Thursday that France will recognize Palestine as a state, expressing outrage at the Palestinian death toll and starvation in Gaza. It was a bold, but largely symbolic, diplomatic move. Once formalized at the U.N. General Assembly in September, France will become the biggest Western power to call for a Palestinian state. More than 140 countries recognize Palestine as a state.
Stein, who placed the war in Gaza at the forefront of her 2024 presidential election campaign, said the U.S. must immediately follow suit.
"Having provided 80% of weapons, funding and diplomatic cover for this genocidal assault, the US fully shares responsibility with Israel," she said. "We must stop blocking Palestinian statehood, which is supported by at least 75% of U.N. members. But for Palestinians to survive to populate this state, we must first adopt an immediate ban on military and economic aid to Israel until it complies with international law, ends its siege, allows aid to flow, and agrees to a cease fire and an end to genocide and occupation."
Israel denies it is committing genocide in Gaza. It says it is prepared to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms and goes into exile. Hamas has rejected these demands.
People gather as a C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft drops humanitarian aid on the northern Gaza Strip on July 27, 2025. Two Jordanian and one Emirati plane on dropped 25 tonnes of humanitarian aid over...
People gather as a C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft drops humanitarian aid on the northern Gaza Strip on July 27, 2025. Two Jordanian and one Emirati plane on dropped 25 tonnes of humanitarian aid over the Gaza Strip, Jordanian state television reported on July 27. More
BASHAR TALEB/AFP via Getty Images
What People Are Saying
Stein told Newsweek: "In short, the world is recoiling in horror as we witness the utter dismantling of international law, human rights and basic decency. This is a threat not just to Palestine, but also to the people of Israel, whose future in a full-blown apartheid authoritarian state is bleak, as noted by Holocaust scholar Omer Bartov. It is also a threat to people of the world including Americans, whose position as top dog in the global order is shakier by the day. We too will be vulnerable in a world ruled by the law of the jungle, rather than the law of nations currently under attack."
Macron wrote in his statement on X on Thursday: "The urgent thing today is that the war in Gaza stops and the civilian population is saved."
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, condemned Macron's decision, saying in a statement: "Such a move rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became. A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launchpad to annihilate Israel—not to live in peace beside it."
President Donald Trump, responding to Macron's announcement on Friday said: "What he says doesn't matter. He's a very good guy. I like him, but that statement doesn't carry weight."
Palestinian children shove to receive a meal at a charity kitchen in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on July 22, 2025. The head of Gaza's largest hospital said 21...
Palestinian children shove to receive a meal at a charity kitchen in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on July 22, 2025. The head of Gaza's largest hospital said 21 children have died due to malnutrition and starvation in the Palestinian territory in the past three days, amid a devastating assault by Israeli forces. More
AFP via Getty Images
Israeli Permanent Representative to the U.N. Danny Danon said in a statement shared with Newsweek: "Neither international conferences disconnected from reality nor unilateral statements at the U.N. will lead to peace.
"Macron's decision to recognize a Palestinian state after the massacre of Oct. 7 and precisely at a time when Hamas is still holding hostages is a disgraceful reward for terrorism. Anyone who ignores the reality on the ground—that Israel has no partner for peace—harms not only Israel but the stability of the entire region."
Tom Cotton, a Republican Senator from Arkansas, responded to Macron's statement by saying on X: "This is a shameful endorsement of terrorists. The best way for this conflict to end is to back Israel in its righteous mission of rescuing the hostages and defeating Hamas."
Palestinian walk carrying sacks of flour near Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on July 27, 2025, after trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered into northern Gaza coming from the Zikim border crossing. Jordanian and Emirati...
Palestinian walk carrying sacks of flour near Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on July 27, 2025, after trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered into northern Gaza coming from the Zikim border crossing. Jordanian and Emirati planes dropped food into Gaza on July 27, as Israel began a limited "tactical pause" in military operations to allow the UN and aid agencies to tackle a deepening hunger crisis. More
BASHAR TALEB/AFP via Getty Images
What Happens Next
Israel said the "tactical pause" in the heavily-populated areas of Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi will run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily and will increase humanitarian aid to Gaza.
However, wider ceasefire efforts remain in doubt. Israel and the U.S. on Thursday withdrew negotiating teams from Qatar, where talks had been taking place. They blamed Hamas for the breakdown, with Israel saying "alternative options" were being considered to talks.
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The Hill
14 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump faces bipartisan warnings over Gaza
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They don't like seeing suffering, nor do I think the president does,' Tillis said. 'If you see starvation, you try to fix it.' Trump told reporters Tuesday while capping his trip to Scotland that he was 'trying to get things straightened out' with Netanyahu and Gaza. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee pushed back on the idea the president's remarks this week represent a break in their relationship. 'Let me assure you that there is no break between the prime minister of Israel and the president,' Huckabee said Tuesday on Fox News. 'Their relationship, I think, [is] stronger than it's ever been, and I think the relationship between the U.S. and Israel is as strong as it's ever been.' Images of starving children — and reports of Israeli attacks on civilians lining up for humanitarian aid — have led some members of Trump's base to speak out about the unfolding crisis in Gaza, adding to pressure on the administration to intervene. Trump has said the U.S. will partner with Israel to run additional food centers. The increasing unease among some of Trump's staunchest supporters puts a spotlight on the administration's close ties with Israel and raises additional questions about what exactly Trump will do to get aid into Gaza. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) and MAGA-friendly podcast host Theo Von are among those in Trump's orbit who have expressed alarm at the situation. Greene on Tuesday referred to the Israeli campaign in Gaza as 'genocide.' Similar criticism has so far been confined to the left, where academics and activists in pro-Palestinian spaces have accused the Israeli government of 'ethnic cleansing.' The White House earlier this year cracked down on pro-Palestine protests on university campuses, accusing schools of enabling antisemitism and pledging to screen international students' social media accounts for anti-Israel sentiment in their visa applications. 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The Hill
14 minutes ago
- The Hill
French ministers condemn ‘excessive use of force' after Jewish youths were removed from a flight
PARIS (AP) — A summer camp counselor has accused Spanish police of using brute force against her during the removal of a group of French Jewish teenagers from a plane bound for Paris from Spain, French government ministers said Wednesday. Ministers Aurore Bergé and Benjamin Haddad met with the counselor on Tuesday after French authorities last week contacted the CEO of the Spanish low-cost airline Vueling and the Spanish ambassador to France to determine whether the youngsters had been discriminated against on the basis of their religion. Forty-four minors and eight adult French passengers were kicked off flight V8166 from Valencia to Paris on July 23, for what Spanish police and the airline described as unruly behavior. But the ministers said the counselor, who asked to remain anonymous and is described as 'shocked,' disputed that account. They say she described the crew as hostile from the outset, saying a child briefly sang but stopped when asked, and claimed no behavior warranted the group's removal or the Civil Guard's response. 'No action justified the disembarkation or the excessive and brutal use of force by the Civil Guard against the young woman, who has just been notified of 15 days of total incapacity to work,' the ministers said in a statement, adding that her testimony had been corroborated by other passengers on board. The Club Kineret association, which organized the summer camp, did not immediately answer requests from The Associated Press for direct testimonies from people who were removed from the plane. A Vueling spokesperson said the passengers were removed after the minors repeatedly tampered with the plane's emergency equipment and interrupted the crew's safety demonstration. A Civil Guard spokesperson said the plane captain ordered the group's removal at Valencia's Manises Airport after they repeatedly ignored crew instructions. Bergé and Haddad also lashed out at a statement from the Spanish Minister of Transport 'equating French children of Jewish faith with Israeli citizens, as if that somehow justified the treatment they received.' Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente has deleted a tweet from July 26 in which he called the minors 'Israeli brats.' 'At a time when antisemitic acts have been on the rise across Europe since the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, in Israel, the ministers call on Vueling and the Spanish authorities to fully investigate and clarify the events,' Bergé and Haddad said. 'We will never accept the normalization of antisemitism. We will always stand with our fellow citizens who suffer from antisemitic hatred, and we will never compromise.' Vueling has denied that the incident was related to the passengers' religion. Some Israeli news outlets reported that the students were Jewish and that their removal was religiously motivated, a claim that was repeated by an Israeli minister online. The Civil Guard spokesperson said the agents involved were not aware of the group's religious affiliation.
CNN
41 minutes ago
- CNN
‘Worst-case scenario of famine' is unfolding in Gaza, UN-backed food security initiative says
A UN-backed food security agency has warned that 'the worst case scenario of famine' is unfolding in Gaza, its starkest alert yet as starvation spreads and Israel faces growing international pressure to allow more food into the territory. 'Conflict and displacement have intensified, and access to food and other essential items and services has plummeted to unprecedented levels,' the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said in an alert, adding that 'mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths.' The IPC said that the alert is intended to 'draw urgent attention to the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation' but doesn't constitute a formal classification of famine. 'Given the most recent information and data made available, a new IPC analysis is to be conducted without delay,' it added. More than 20,000 children were admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition between April and mid-July, the IPC said, with more than 3,000 severely malnourished. 'Latest data indicates that famine thresholds have been reached for food consumption in most of the Gaza Strip and for acute malnutrition in Gaza City,' the alert said, calling for 'immediate action' to end the hostilities and allow for 'unimpeded, large-scale, life-saving humanitarian response.' In May, the IPC reported that the enclave's entire population was experiencing 'high levels of acute food security' and the territory was at 'high risk' of famine, the most severe type of hunger crisis. Israel has come under mounting pressure by the international community to break its blockade, allow aid into Gaza and end the war. In some of his strongest remarks on the crisis, US President Donald Trump on Monday said there is 'real starvation' in Gaza, contradicting earlier statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who insists there is no starvation. President Donald Trump contradicted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's assessment on starvation in Gaza and announced a plan for new "food centers" in the enclave. CNN's Nic Robertson reports from Jerusalem. 'That's real starvation stuff,' Trump told reporters in Turnberry, Scotland. 'I see it, and you can't fake that. So, we're going to be even more involved.' Trump added that the United States will set up 'food centers' in Gaza to address the crisis. Vice President JD Vance also lamented images coming out of the besieged territory. 'I don't know if you've all seen these images. You have got some really, really heartbreaking cases. You've got little kids who are clearly starving to death,' Vance told reporters Monday during a visit to Canton, Ohio. 'Israel's got to do more to let that aid in,' he said, adding that 'we've also got to wage war on Hamas so that those folks stop preventing food from coming into this territory.' Over the weekend, Israel announced a daily 'tactical pause in military activity' in three areas of Gaza to enable more aid to reach people. The military said the move would 'refute the false claim of deliberate starvation in the Gaza Strip.' Israel has also allowed foreign countries to airdrop aid into the territory, but the practice has in the past been deemed by the UN and other aid groups as costly, dangerous and insufficient. Meanwhile, the health ministry in Gaza said on Tuesday that more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since Israel's war on Hamas began nearly two years ago. The ministry reported that 113 people were killed in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 60,034. The announcement comes as hopes dim for a ceasefire anytime soon, after talks broke up last week without an agreement. The war began after Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack on Israel killed around 1,200 people and saw another roughly 250 people taken hostage. Authorities in Gaza do not distinguish between civilians and Hamas fighters when reporting casualty figures, but the health ministry and the UN say the majority of deaths are women and children. And the true toll could be much higher, with many thousands still believed to be buried under rubble. Israel does not dispute that a significant number of Palestinian civilians have been killed in its war in Gaza. But it has long argued that figures from the Hamas-controlled health ministry are exaggerated, and that Hamas embeds itself between civilians, using them as 'human shields.' On Monday, a pair of leading Israeli human rights groups accused Israel of 'committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza,' becoming the first such organizations to make the claim. B'Tselem said it came to that 'unequivocal conclusion' after an 'examination of Israel's policy in the Gaza Strip and its horrific outcomes, together with statements by senior Israeli politicians and military commanders about the goals of the attack.' A second Israeli group, Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI), announced it was joining B'Tselem in calling Israel's actions in Gaza genocide. It published a separate legal and medical analysis documenting what it called 'deliberate and systematic extermination of the health system in Gaza.' Israeli government spokesman David Mencer dismissed the report. 'We have free speech in this country but we strongly reject this claim,' he told reporters, adding that Israel has allowed aid into Gaza. CNN's Eyad Kourdi, DJ Judd and Ivana Kottasová contributed reporting.
