World
Palestinian Statehood: Prospects Are 'Disappearing,' Warn Two Former World Leaders
Mary Robinson, Ireland's first president, and Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, warned on July 17, 2026, that prospects for a Palestinian state are "disappearing." Both are members of the Elders, a group of former political leaders and Nobel Prize laureates founded in 2007 by Nelson Mandela. They recently completed a tour through Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, and occupied West Bank. They point to Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank and incitement to violence against Palestinians by Netanyahu government ministers. The UN recorded over 760 settler violence incidents in the West Bank from January to May 2026.