JERUSALEM — If Britain, France, Canada, and Australia recognize a Palestinian state during the United Nations General Assembly’s annual Sept. 9-28 meeting in New York, their actions will have no legal significance. However, they could still undermine U.S. efforts to bring an end to the 23-month Hamas-Israel war.

Believing that even empty promises of Palestinian sovereignty would constitute a reward for Hamas’s terrorism and embolden the terrorist group to up its demands at the negotiating table, President Donald Trump‘s administration is determined to show that it is in charge.