While French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that his country would recognise the state of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in September, the move has met with stiff opposition from the US, which termed it as a "reckless decision". Spain, on the other hand, has welcomed the announcement, saying the "two-state solution is the only answer".
France’s announcement would make it the first nation among the developed and Group of Seven (G7) to recognise Palestine. Macron on Thursday said in a social media post that "the French people want peace in the Middle East, as French citizens, alongside Israelis, Palestinians, and our European and international partners, to prove that peace is possible."
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Macron, who had desired to accept the Palestinians as a state in June at a UN conference, missed the chance as the event was postponed. The move is seen as consistent with France’s objective of promoting peace through the two-state solution between Israel and Palestine amid intense Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Reacting to Macron’s move, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a decision on Thursday, as stated in his social media post. He said a Palestinian state "would be a launchpad to annihilate Israel—not to live in peace beside it."
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Shortly after, on Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticised Macron’s “reckless decision,” which he said “only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace.” “In keeping with 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 wrote on X.
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