LONDON — What does it mean when the United States, Britain, France and Spain upgrade the diplomatic status of the Palestinian delegations in their capitals, as they all did in the past year? When the number of countries recognizing Palestinian statehood now exceeds 100?
Benjamin Ben Eliezer, former deputy prime minister of Israel and minister of industry, trade and labor in the current government, thinks he knows. "I wouldn't be surprised if within one year the whole world supports a Palestinian state, including the United States," he warned his Cabinet colleagues recently.
Ben Eliezer doesn't mean a hypothetical Palestinian state at some point in the distant future, after Israelis and Palestinians have miraculously agreed on borders, refugees, etc. He means a real Palestinian state, declared this year and promptly recognized by practically everybody.