Macron said in a post on X that he will formalize the decision at the UN General Assembly in September. “The urgent thing today is that the war in Gaza stops and the civilian population is saved,” he wrote.
The mostly symbolic move puts added diplomatic pressure on Israel as the war and humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip rage. France is now the biggest Western power to recognize Palestine, and the move could pave the way for other countries to do the same. More than 140 countries recognize a Palestinian state, including more than a dozen in Europe.
The Palestinians seek an independent state in the occupied West Bank, annexed east Jerusalem and Gaza, territories Israel occupied in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel’s government and most of its political class have long been opposed to Palestinian statehood and now say that it would reward militants after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
‘’We strongly condemn President Macron’s decision,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. ‘’Such a move rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became. A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel — not to live in peace beside it.”
The Palestinian Authority welcomed it. A letter announcing the move was presented Thursday to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Jerusalem.
‘’We express our thanks and appreciation” to Macron, Hussein Al Sheikh, the PLO’s vice president under Abbas, posted. ‘’This position reflects France’s commitment to international law and its support for the Palestinian people’s rights to self-determination.”
There was no immediate reaction from the administration of US President Donald Trump.
With Europe’s largest Jewish population and the largest Muslim population in western Europe, France has often seen fighting in the Middle East spill over into protests or other tensions at home.
The French president offered support for Israel after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and frequently speaks out against antisemitism, but he has grown increasingly frustrated about Israel’s war in Gaza.
″Given its historic commitment to a just and sustainable peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognize the state of Palestine,” Macron posted. ″Peace is possible.”
Thursday’s announcement came soon after the US cut short Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar, saying Hamas wasn’t showing good faith.
It also came days before France and Saudi Arabia are co-hosting a conference at the UN next week about a two-state solution. Last month, Macron expressed his “determination to recognize the state of Palestine,” and he has pushed for a broader movement toward a two-state solution in parallel with recognition of Israel and its right to defend itself.
Momentum has been building against Israel in recent days. Earlier this week, France and more than two dozen mostly European countries condemned Israel’s restrictions on aid shipments into the territory and the killings of hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach food.
Macron will join the leaders of Britain and Germany for emergency talks Friday on Gaza, how to get food to the hungry and how to stop fighting.
“We are clear that statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people. A ceasefire will put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution which guarantees peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in announcing the call. “The suffering and starvation unfolding in Gaza is unspeakable and indefensible.”
Israel annexed east Jerusalem shortly after the 1967 war and considers it part of its capital. In the West Bank, it has built scores of settlements, some resembling sprawling suburbs, that are now home to over 500,000 Jewish settlers with Israeli citizenship. The territory’s 3 million Palestinians live under Israeli military rule, with the Palestinian Authority exercising limited autonomy in population centers.
The last serious peace talks broke down in 2009, when Netanyahu returned to power. Most of the international community considers the establishment of a viable Palestinian state alongside Israel to be the only realistic solution to the century-old conflict.
Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas hailed France’s pledge on Thursday to recognize a State of Palestine as a “positive step” and urged all countries to do the same despite Israeli opposition.
“We consider this a positive step in the right direction toward doing justice to our oppressed Palestinian people and supporting their legitimate right to self-determination,” Hamas said in a statement, after French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement that France would formally state its recognition in September.
“We call on all countries of the world — especially European nations and those that have not yet recognized the State of Palestine — to follow France’s lead,” Hamas added.
More than 30 former UK ambassadors and 20 former senior diplomats at the UN have also urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer to recognize a Palestinian state.
In a statement, the diplomats called on Starmer to seize the “moment to recognise Palestinian statehood unconditionally," warning that “the risks of inaction have profound, historic and catastrophic implications.”
Starvation has affected the 2 million residents of the Gaza Strip amid Israeli attacks and aid restrictions. “(Israel) cannot be secure from threats in the future if the question of Palestine is not taken forward to a political settlement,” they said.
The statement added: “In the face of the current horror and impunity, words are not enough … a partial suspension of arms sales, delays on trade talks and limited sanctions are far from the full extent of the pressure the UK can bring to bear on Israel.”
Recognising a Palestinian state would be a “foundational first step toward breaking the deadly status quo,” the letter said. The UK has consistently stated it would recognize Palestine in conjunction with allies “at the point of maximum impact.”nflict