France to recognize Palestinian state in September, Macron says
"In keeping with its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognize the State of Palestine,' Macron said in a social media post late Thursday.
The official announcement will be made on the sidelines of the next annual gathering of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York, he added.
Macron's announcement prompted a harsh response from Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who rejects Palestinian statehood and argues the offensive in Gaza is necessary to topple and disarm Hamas after the group killed 1,200 people and abducted some 250 others in the Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israel. Of the hostages, 50 are still in Gaza, with roughly 20 thought by Israel to still be alive.
"We strongly condemn President Macron's decision to recognize a Palestinian state next to Tel Aviv in the wake of the Oct. 7 massacre,' Netanyahu said in a social media post. "Such a move rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became,' he added.
Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the European Union.
Macron has become increasingly angered by the Israeli military's continued attacks in Gaza and Netanyahu's restrictions on allowing humanitarian aid to enter the territory, with reports of emaciated babies, children crammed into soup queues and men tussling over bags of flour.
"The 2.1 million people trapped in the war zone that is Gaza are facing yet another killer on top of bombs and bullets: starvation,' World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said this week.
The Palestinian flag is raised for the first time on Dec. 13, 2011, above the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. |
AFP-JIJI
Macron has said since last year that France, home to both the largest Jewish and Muslim communities in Europe, could recognize a Palestinian state. He even tried to organize a conference with Saudi Arabia in New York in June to do so, before canceling it following the military clashes between Israel and Iran.
French and Saudi officials are now expected to lead a conference at the ministerial level to discuss Palestinian statehood next week in New York. The U.S. won't attend, the State Department said Thursday.
The leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, was informed of France's decision via a letter from Macron, delivered in person by France's consul in Jerusalem, the French foreign ministry said.
While many Western countries have grown increasingly critical of Israel for its actions against civilians in Gaza, no other member of the Group of Seven has taken the step of recognizing Palestine as a nation. Spain, Ireland and Norway are among Western countries that do recognize Palestine.
Macron's announcement puts pressure on U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is facing a push from senior members of his own government, to potentially follow suit.
The British leader said Thursday that "statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people' and that a ceasefire would put the U.K. "on a path' to recognition, but stopped short of committing to a time frame.
Talks for a ceasefire in Gaza broke down on Thursday, with the U.S. and Israel withdrawing their negotiating teams.
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