ADVEReadNOWISEMENT
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that France will recognise Palestine as a state, adding that he hoped this would help bring peace to the region.
In a statement posted on X, Macron said that the decision will be formalised at the UN General Assembly in September. ″Peace is possible,’ read the statement.
″Consistent 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 posted.
He also called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the return of all hostages and massive humanitarian aid to reach the people of Gaza, while also calling for the demilitarisation of Hamas.
“The urgent priority today is to end the war in Gaza and to bring relief to the civilian population,” read Macron’s statement, which also included a letter sent to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas regarding the decision.
The announcement makes France the biggest and most powerful European country to recognise Palestine. Currently, 140 countries recognise a Palestinian state, more than a dozen of them European.
Announcement comes as anger over starving Gazans grows
The French president has previously expressed a “determination to recognise the state of Palestine” in June, and advocated for a broader movement towards a two-state solution while also emphasising a recognition of Israel and its right to defend itself.
The announcement comes as global anger increases over people starving in the Gaza Strip after months of severe aid restrictions imposed by Israel, as well as a war waged by the Israeli military that has killed tens of thousands since October 2023.
Yesterday, more than 100 leading organisations including Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International and Oxfam said that famine is widespread across Gaza.
The announcement also came a very short while after the US departed ceasefire talks on Gaza that were being held in Qatar, claiming that Hamas was lacking “good faith”.
France has Europe’s largest Jewish population, as well as the largest Muslim population in western Europe.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called the statement “ridiculous and not serious”.
“A Palestinian state will be a Hamas state,” he added.
This story is developing and our journalists will update it as more news comes through.