State Department reviewing possibilities of recognising Palestinian state: Report

Axios is reporting that Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked the State Department to conduct an assessment of the policy options around recognising a Palestinian state after the war in Gaza.

The report appears to signal a plan to link the pathway for Palestinian statehood to normalisation with Saudi Arabia as a part of the Biden administration's post-war strategy, according to Axios.

The options on the table for the US include bilaterally recognising a Palestinian state, encouraging other countries to recognise Palestine, and also not using Washington's veto power at the UN Security Council to block Palestine from becoming a full member state.

But it also comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and many top Israeli ministers have been vehemently opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state.