France will recognise a Palestinian state in September at the UN general assembly, Emmanuel Macron has said.
The French president announced the decision on X on Thursday evening, saying he hoped it would bring peace to the region.
Macron published a letter sent to the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, confirming France’s intention to become the first major western power to recognise a Palestinian state.
“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.”
Macron said the “urgent priority today is to end the war in Gaza and rescue the civilian population”.
“We must finally build the State of Palestine, ensure its viability and enable it, by accepting its demilitarisation and fully recognising Israel, to contribute to the security of all in the Middle East,” he wrote on social media.
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said France’s decision “rewards terror” and “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.
The US secretary of State, Marco Rubio, responded angrily to Macron’s announcement, calling it a “reckless decision” that was a “slap in the face” to victims of the 7 October Hamas attack. In a diplomatic cable in June, the US said it opposed any steps that would unilaterally recognise a Palestinian state.
Macron had been leaning towards recognising a Palestinian state for months as part of an attempt to keep the idea of a two-state solution alive, despite the pressure not to do so.
French officials initially weighed up the move in advance of a UN conference, which France and Saudi Arabia had planned to co-host in June, to lay out the parameters for a route to a Palestinian state while ensuring Israel’s security.
The conference was postponed under US pressure and after the 12-day Israel-Iran air war began, during which regional airspace was closed, making it hard for representatives of some Arab states to attend.
It was rescheduled and downgraded to a ministerial event on 28 and 29 July, with a second event due to take place with heads of state and government on the sidelines of the UN general assembly in September.
French officials had said in recent weeks that Macron remained resolved to recognise a Palestinian state and that he would decide the timing. France had weighed up when to make an announcement to try to ensure it would have a positive impact and could create momentum in the Middle East crisis.
The decision to make the announcement before next week’s conference aimed to give the French team at the UN a framework to work with other countries who are also considering recognising a Palestinian state or still have misgivings over doing so.
Diplomats say Macron has faced resistance from allies such as the UK and Canada over his push for the recognition of a Palestinian state. About 40 foreign ministers will be in New York next week.
Thanking France, the Palestinian Authority’s vice-president, Hussein al-Sheikh, said on X that Macron’s decision reflected “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”.
Hamas hailed Macron’s pledge as a “positive step in the right direction toward doing justice to our oppressed Palestinian people and supporting their legitimate right to self-determination”.
While France would be the most significant European power to recognise a Palestinian state, others have hinted they could do the same.
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Britain’s prime minister Keir Starmer announced he would hold a call with counterparts in Germany and France on efforts to stop the fighting on Friday, adding that a ceasefire would “put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state”.
Norway, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia all announced recognition in 2024 as Israel’s military campaign in Gaza continued.
Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez, whose country already recognises Palestinian statehood, welcomed Macron’s announcement. Saudi Arabia hailed the announcement as “historic”.
The Saudi foreign ministry said: “The kingdom praises this historic decision, which reaffirms the international community’s consensus on the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent state.”
The head of the main UN agency serving Palestinians said on Thursday that his frontline staff were fainting from hunger, as the number of people dying of starvation in Gaza continued to rise and hopes for a ceasefire faded as negotiations collapsed.
With Reuters
