Today, Canada, Australia, and the UK announced their recognition of a Palestinian state. This is not a routine diplomatic gesture. It is a betrayal of Israel by some of its closest allies, and more importantly, it is a failure and mistake of the highest order, one that may set back the very peace it is meant to advance.

No one questions the desire of many on both sides to live in security and dignity. Israel has shown time and time again that it is prepared to make painful compromises for peace, from Camp David to Oslo to disengagement from Gaza. But recognition of a Palestinian state under the current conditions does not move us closer to that goal. It does the opposite. Coming in with recognition is a cheap move by Western countries that ignores incitement and violence and solves nothing.

Palestinian leaders have not renounced violence or ended their campaign of incitement. Terror attacks continue. Children are still taught to see Israelis as enemies. Killers are celebrated as heroes. The goal of statehood is to build peace, but can that ever be achieved when Palestinian leaders still glorify violence? By extending recognition today, the international community sends a message that these realities can be ignored, and worse, that violence is rewarded.

We have already seen the consequences of empowering extremists without conditions. When Hamas was elected to govern Gaza in 2007, many hoped that responsibility would temper them. Instead, Gaza became a launchpad for more than 30,000 rockets aimed at Israeli homes, with aid diverted to tunnels and weapons. Far from advancing peace, this experiment in premature empowerment left Israelis under fire and Palestinians under tyranny.

There is little precedent for recognizing states or regimes that reject basic norms of peace. Rhodesia, under minority rule, was denied recognition. More recently, the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and ISIS in Syria and Iraq declared themselves as sovereign governments. Neither received recognition because the international community rightly understood that granting legitimacy to regimes built on violence and extremism would have disastrous consequences. Why, then, should the bar be lowered when it comes to Israel’s security and Jewish lives?

It is important to remember that recognition is not a symbolic gesture. It has real political consequences. It emboldens radicals who see violence rewarded and weakens Palestinian moderates such as Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, who champion peace. Even worse, it destroys the very possibility of a two-state solution built on coexistence, replacing dialogue and compromise with the illusion that peace can be imposed without change.

That this announcement comes as Jews worldwide mark the approach of Rosh Hashanah underscores its bitter and cynical timing. The holiday is a time of reflection and renewal, when communities look ahead with hope for peace and progress. Yet instead of reinforcing that hope, world leaders are signaling that violence and rejectionism need not be abandoned.

True peace will never come from international shortcuts or symbolic gestures. It will only come when there is a rejection of violence, when the incitement ends from Hamas. Recognition should be the outcome of that process, not the prize for avoiding it.

The UK and its allies believe they are advancing peace. In reality, they are undermining it. They are not laying foundations for stability. They are making the ground less steady. One truth is clear: peace cannot be built on terror.

Yoni Strashun is an American-Israeli PR associate at Gova10, a multinational PR firm. He holds a BA in Government from Reichman University and previously interned with HonestReporting. His professional experience includes work with social action NGOs and leading tech companies, multinationals etc.