France will recognise a Palestinian State in September at the UN general assembly, President Emmanuel Macron said.
He announced the decision on X on the evening of July 24, saying he hoped it would bring peace to the region.
Macron published a letter sent to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas confirming France’s intention to become the first major western power to recognise a Palestinian State, according to The Guardian.
“True to its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognise the State of Palestine,” Macron said.
“I will make this solemn announcement at the United Nations General Assembly next September.”
The decision was likely to spark anger in Israel and Washington. In a diplomatic cable in June, the US said it opposed any steps that would unilaterally recognise a Palestinian State.
In his post explaining the decision, Macron called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of hostages and for much more humanitarian aid to reach those in the territory, Sky reported.
But Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz called the French decision “a disgrace and a surrender to terrorism”.
Macron said in his post on July 24: “The urgent thing today is that the war in Gaza stops and the civilian population is saved,″ according to France 24.
The French President offered support for Israel after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks and has frequently spoken out against anti-Semitism but he has grown increasingly frustrated about Israel’s war in Gaza, especially in recent months.
“Given its historic commitment to a just and sustainable peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognise the State of Palestine,” Macron posted.
″Peace is possible.”
He also posted about the letter he sent to Abbas about the decision. Abbas’ deputy Hussein al-Sheikh welcomed France’s move.
“This position reflects France’s commitment to international law and its support for the Palestinian people’s rights to self-determination and the establishment of our independent state,” al-Sheikh said.
France is the biggest and most powerful European country to recognise Palestine. According to a recent AFP tally, at least 142 countries out of the 193 UN members have now recognised or plan to recognise a Palestinian State, although Israel and the US have strongly opposed such recognition.
France has Europe’s largest Jewish population and the largest Muslim population in western Europe. Fighting in the Middle East has often spilled over into protests and other tensions in France.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on July 24 France’s decision to recognise a State of Palestine “rewards terror” and posed an existential threat to Israel.
Netanyahu said in a statement that the move “risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became”, which would be “a launch pad to annihilate Israel – not to live in peace beside it”.
“Let’s be clear: The Palestinians do not seek a state alongside Israel; they seek a state instead of Israel,” he added.
Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister Yariv Levin at the same time slammed France’s move, calling it “a black mark on French history and a direct aid to terrorism”.
Levin, who is also Israel’s justice minister, said France’s “shameful decision” meant it was now “time to apply Israeli sovereignty” to the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.
