In an interview with a French broadcaster on April 10, President Macron of France suggested that France is planning to recognize a Palestinian state by June. These remarks were dismissed by Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar.
President Macron was hopeful that by recognizing a Palestinian state in a conference that France is co-hosting with Saudi Arabia in June, some countries in the Middle East can, in turn, recognise the state of Israel. “We need to move towards recognition (of a Palestinian state). And so, over the next few months, we will. I’m not doing it to please anyone. I’ll do it because at some point it will be right,” President Macron said in an interview with France 5 television, as quoted by the New York Post.
In response, Israel’s foreign minister condemned France’s announcement “Unilateral recognition of a fictional Palestinian state, by any country, in the reality that we all know, will be a prize for terror and a boost for Hamas,” said Gideon Sa’ar on X late on Wednesday.
France, which is also a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, would be among the first major European countries to recognize a Palestinian state. Most major Western powers like the US, Britain, Germany, France, and Japan do not recognize the state of Palestine, while countries like Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen, Iran, and Iraq do not recognize the state of Israel.
Macron’s comment comes as the French president went on a three-day visit to Egypt, where he also visited a hospital that was attending Palestinians in the city of El-Arish, close to the border with Gaza.
President Macron’s statement comes at a time when the ceasefire efforts fell through and Israel resumed its bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
