It cannot be emphasized enough that world leaders saw genocidal terrorists slaughter 1,200 Israeli civilians and decided that they want to reward those terrorists with a state.

That is what Ireland, Norway, and Spain have done by declaring that they will recognize “Palestine” as an independent state. Their decision was made to spite Israel for its efforts to eliminate Hamas, which is hiding behind civilians after murdering those 1,200 people and taking hundreds more hostage.

Given that none of those countries ever decided to declare “Palestine” to be an independent state beforehand, it is safe to say the decision wouldn’t have been made if Hamas hadn’t committed its massacre. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store even said he hoped “the process towards a two-state solution finally can begin again.” Nothing quite suggests stability and peace like a two-state solution blooming from soil watered by the blood of Israeli civilians and the hands of Hamas butchers.

The problems in the Middle East are no doubt complex, and my colleague Tom Rogan has made the case that the two-state solution is in America’s interest — well down the road, though, and only once Hamas is gone. Yet, the basic negotiating error here is that the two-state solution is never off the table. The Palestinians have no incentive to stop their terrorism when they know that the United States and everyone else are tripping over themselves to offer Palestinians a state.

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No matter how badly the Palestinians act, how many terrorist attacks they launch and then celebrate, how many ceasefires and other negotiations they reject, they know the world wants to give them a state. All Ireland, Norway, and Spain are showing now is that they are so willing to provide such a state that they don’t even care if the terrorists are allowed to stay in power, and are willing to pressure other countries to accept that potential future. They are giving Hamas no reason to stop doing what it has been doing. They are, in effect, incentivizing more Oct. 7 massacres by showing that they will reward Palestinians as punishment for Israel defending itself.

If no one is willing to take the two-state solution off the table, you will get almost no change in governance from Hamas or change from the terrorist threat that Palestinian terrorists pose to Israelis. All of the leverage in these negotiations is being exerted on Israel to accept a legitimized terrorist state on its border. In turn, that makes it impossible for a two-state solution to be “peaceful” in any meaningful way.