On Tuesday, following a protest that took place in Valletta, Prime Minister Robert Abela announced that Malta will be recognising the State of Palestine in September, at a UN General Assembly that will take place.

Malta's recognition of the State of Palestine has been debated for years, and Abela over the past months made Malta's intention to recognise it clear.

In May, Abela told Parliament that he is determined to be the Prime Minister who will officially recognise the State of Palestine, but reiterated his stance that Malta was waiting for the opportune moment to do so.

Abela has been facing pressure from many corners, including from people within his own party to make the announcement. Making the announcement on social media, not through an official statement published by the Department of Information, perhaps is indicative of the pressure he was under to make an announcement sooner rather than later.

Tuesday's announcement comes after France declared its intention to recognise Palestine in September, and the UK said that it will recognize a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza, allows the U.N. to bring in aid and takes other steps toward long-term peace. States are taking action as people have had enough of Israel's merciless killing of civilians.

Recognising the State of Palestine is necessary for a two-state-solution to be found. And the two-state-solution is seen as the best hope of a lasting peace in the region. A two-state-solution must be found.

But when recognising the state of Palestine, a distinction must be made between the Palestinian people and Hamas, which is a terrorist organisation. Hamas must be dismantled, as a terrorist organisation must not be allowed to lead a state, or operate freely within one. Hamas' brutal October 7 attack in 2023 has rightly been condemned worldwide. It is impossible to see how Israel would ever agree to a peaceful solution if Hamas does not dismantle.

The October 7 2023 attack sparked Israel's retaliation, but to say that Israel has taken things way too far is an understatement, and the slaughter of a sea of innocent civilians has resulted in worldwide uproar. Cases were filed before international courts, including the international criminal court.

The world's top war-crimes court issued arrest warrants in 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defence minister and a Hamas' military chief (who has since died). Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister are accused of crimes against humanity in connection with the war in Gaza. Israel is not a member of the court and staunchly rejects the charges. While Israeli officials deny the accusations, they must be taken before the court for there to be justice.

The Associated Press reports that the Palestinian death toll in Gaza passed 60,000 on Tuesday. That is a tremendous loss of life. So many men, woman and children have been slaughtered by the Israeli military. Israel's actions have been dubbed as acts of genocide by rights groups, including Amnesty International, and even two human rights groups in Israel.

The war must stop.

"The world's leading authority on food crises said the worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the territory of over 2 million people as starvation deaths rise. And the United Nations said far too little food and other aid was entering the enclave," the Associated Press reports.

Those responsible for causing such massive loss of life, the leaders of Israel, must be held to account and so must be brought before international courts.

Peace at this stage seems very distant. Palestinians will not forget the atrocities that have been committed. World leaders must do more to bring an end to the war.