France Will Recognize Palestinian Statehood, Macron Says – The New York Times
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France Will Recognize Palestinian Statehood
France would become the first of the Group of 7 major industrialized nations to recognize a Palestinian state. President Emmanuel Macron made the surprise announcement in a post on social media. He said he would formally introduce the plan at the U.N. General Assembly in September.
Macron made the surprise announcement in a post on social media, in which he said that he would formally introduce the plan at the U.N. General Assembly in September. “Today,” Macron said, “the most urgent thing is that the war in Gaza cease and the civilian population be helped.”
After 21 months of devastating conflict set off by the deadly Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Gaza’s most vulnerable civilians are facing what aid groups have described as impending famine.
Dr. Ahmed al-Farra, who leads the pediatric ward at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, said the number of children dying of malnutrition had risen sharply in recent days. “There is no one in Gaza now outside the scope of famine, not even myself,” Dr. al-Farra said. “I am speaking to you as a health official, but I, too, am searching for flour to feed my family.”
Friday Briefing: France to Recognize Palestinian Statehood
France will recognize Palestinian statehood at the U.N. General Assembly in September in New York. The move is likely to irritate President Trump as he makes his own moves to try to end the war.
President Emmanuel Macron announced yesterday that France would recognize Palestine as a state, becoming the first of the Group of Seven major industrialized nations to do so.
In a surprise statement on X, Macron said that he would make the formal announcement at the U.N. General Assembly in September in New York. The move is likely to irritate President Trump as he makes his own moves to try to end the war. Most countries recognize Palestine as a nation, but the U.S. and most of its close allies do not.
“Today the most urgent thing is that the war in Gaza cease and the civilian population be helped,” Macron said.
After 21 months of devastating war, the lack of available food and water in Gaza is taking a heavy toll on the most vulnerable — the young, the old and the sick. The World Food Program said this week that a third of Gaza’s population was “not eating for multiple days in a row.”
Macron says France will recognize a Palestinian state in September
Mara Kronenfeld, executive director of UNRWA USA, says one in five children in Gaza City are facing malnutrition. Israel’s blockade is creating a restriction on food and aid availability, she says. The sick, elderly, young and disabled people have walk far to get that aid, she points. Israel has denied creating famine in Gaza and accused Hamas of “engineering” food shortages.
“They are having to make that choice: Do I risk death or do I try to find some food to feed my children?” she said.
Neighbors are fainting in the streets and aid workers themselves don’t have enough food to get energy to continue the work they are doing, she said.
Kronenfeld criticized Israel’s response on the starvation crisis as “disingenuous at best and dark and cynical at worst.”
Israel has denied creating famine in Gaza and accused Hamas of “engineering” food shortages.
“UNRWA has the equivalent of 6000 trucks of aid, emergency aid and medicine sitting just outside the border. Let that aid in,” Kronenfeld said.
Israel’s blockade is creating a restriction on food and aid availability, which is increasing food prices and the “possibility that people might hoard it,” she noted.
One in five children in Gaza City are facing malnutrition, she said, describing “a catastrophic, indescribable situation on the ground in Gaza.”
Kronenfeld also said that the aid distributed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation “is a drop in the bucket.” It has four distribution sites in southern Gaza, so the sick, elderly, young and disabled people have walk far to get that aid, which has resulted in deaths and injuries, she pointed.
Meanwhile, UNRWA has 400 sites and they distribute aid to people where they are with “transparency, integrity and with the dignity of those who are receiving aid,” Kronenfeld said.
France to recognise Palestinian state in September
France will officially recognise a Palestinian state in September, President Macron says. Move follows Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack in Israel. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says he will hold an “emergency call” with French and German leaders. Israel’s main supporter, the US, and its allies including the UK, have not recognised a PalestinianState. The State of Palestine is recognised by more than 140 of the 193 member states of the U.S.-led G7. The decision will be made at a session of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 14, Macron says in a letter to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The move is expected to be welcomed by the Palestinian people, who have been angered by the Israeli attack on Gaza in October, which killed 1,200 people and injured more than 2,000. The UN’s Palestinian refugee agency said that one in five children in Gaza City was now malnourished and cases were increasing every day.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (left) and French President Emmanuel Macron during talks in Paris in July 2022
Palestinian officials welcomed Macron’s decision, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move “rewards terror” following Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack in Israel.
“The urgent need today is for the war in Gaza to end and for the civilian population to be rescued. Peace is possible. We need an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and massive humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,” he wrote.
In a post on X, Macron said the formal announcement would be made at a session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
France will officially recognise a Palestinian state in September, President Emmanuel Macron has said, which will make it the first G7 nation to do so.
The G7 is a group of major industrialised nations, which alongside France includes the US, the UK, Italy, Germany, Canada and Japan.
In his Thursday post on X, Macron wrote: “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.
“We must also guarantee the demilitarisation of Hamas, and secure and rebuild Gaza.
“Finally, we must build the State of Palestine, ensure its viability, and ensure that by accepting its demilitarisation and fully recognising Israel, it contributes to the security of all in the Middle East. There is no alternative.”
Macron also attached a letter to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas confirming his decision.
Responding to Macron’s announcement, Abbas’ deputy Hussein al-Sheikh said, “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”, according to the AFP news agency.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu wrote in a post on X: “We strongly condemn President Macron’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state next to Tel Aviv in the wake of the 7 October massacre.
“A Palestinian state in these conditions 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,” Netanyahu added.
Hamas said France’s decision was a “positive step in the right direction” and urged all countries of the world “to follow France’s lead”.
Currently, the State of Palestine is recognised by more than 140 of the 193 member states of the UN.
A few European Union countries, including Spain and Ireland, are among them.
But Israel’s main supporter, the US, and its allies including the UK have not recognised a Palestinian state.
In a statement on Thursday, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he will hold an “emergency call” with French and German leaders on Friday to discuss “what we can do urgently to stop the killing”.
Statehood is an “inalienable right of the Palestinian people”, Starmer said, adding that a ceasefire would “put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution”.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry praised France’s decision, saying it “reaffirms the international community’s consensus on the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent state”.
The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the attack on southern Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 59,106 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s health ministry.
Much of Gaza has been reduced to rubble since then.
Earlier on Thursday, the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) said that one in five children in Gaza City was now malnourished and cases were increasing every day.
More than 100 international aid organisations and human rights groups have also warned of mass starvation in the Gaza Strip – pressing for governments to take action.
Israel, which controls the entry of all supplies into the Palestinian territory, has repeatedly said that there is no siege, blaming Hamas for any cases of malnutrition.
France to recognise Palestinian state at UN general assembly, says Macron
France will become the first major Western country to recognise a Palestinian state. The announcement sparked anger from Israel and is likely to get a tough response from Washington. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Mr Macron’s decision saying that such a move “rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy” French officials initially weighed up the move ahead of a United Nations conference, which France and Saudi Arabia had planned to co-host in June. 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. Some 40 foreign ministers will be in New York next week for a conference on the Middle East and North Africa. It was rescheduled to a ministerial event on 28-29 July with a second event taking place with heads of state and government on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September.
France intends to recognise a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly, President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday, adding that he hoped it would help bring peace to the region.
Mr Macron, who announced the decision on X, published a letter sent to Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas confirming France’s intention to press ahead with Palestinian recognition and work to convincing other partners to follow suit.
“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,” Mr Macron said.
“I will make this solemn announcement at the United Nations General Assembly next September.”
France, home to Europe’s largest Jewish and Muslim communities, will become the first major Western country to recognise a Palestinian state, potentially giving greater momentum to a movement so far dominated by smaller nations that are generally more critical of Israel.
The announcement sparked anger from Israel and is likely to get a tough response from Washington.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Mr Macron’s decision saying that such a move “rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy”.
“A Palestinian state in these conditions 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,” Mr Netanyahu said in a post on X.
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz described the move as “a disgrace and a surrender to terrorism”, adding that Israel would not allow the establishment of a “Palestinian entity that would harm our security, endanger our existence”.
In a diplomatic cable in June, the United States said it opposed any steps that would unilaterally recognise a Palestinian state even saying it could go against US foreign policy interests and draw consequences.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr Macron had been leaning towards recognising a Palestinian state for months as part of a bid to keep the idea of a two-state solution alive despite the pressure not to do so.
French officials initially weighed up the move ahead of a United Nations conference, which France and Saudi Arabia had planned to co-host in June to lay out the parameters for a roadmap 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 28-29 July with a second event taking place with heads of state and government on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September.
The decision to make the announcement ahead of next week’s conference aimed to give the French team at the United Nations a framework to work with other countries who are also considering recognising a Palestinian state or still have misgivings in doing so.
Diplomats say Mr Macron has faced resistance from allies such as Britain and Canada over his push for the recognition of a Palestinian state. Some 40 foreign ministers will be in New York next week.
Israeli officials have spent months lobbying to prevent what some have described as “a nuclear bomb” for bilateral relations.
According to sources familiar with the matter, Israel’s warnings to France have ranged from scaling back intelligence sharing to complicating Paris’ regional initiatives – even hinting at possible annexation of parts of the West Bank.
Thanking France, the Palestinian Authority’s vice-president Hussein Al Sheikh said on X that Mr 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.”