Macron recognises Palestinian state at landmark UN summit

President Emmanuel Macron addresses a United Nations Summit on Palestinians at UN headquarters during the UN General Assembly in New York. Photo / Ludovic Marin, AFP

French President Emmanuel Macron has recognised a Palestinian state at the United Nations, spurring a wave of Western moves to defy Israel in making the landmark – if symbolic – move.

Macron, speaking at a summit that Israel and its chief backer, the US, did not attend, called for an end to the war in Gaza.

“The time for peace has come, as we are just moments away from no longer being able to seize it,” Macron said in an address in the General Assembly on Monday.

“The time has come to free the 48 hostages held by Hamas. The time has come to stop the war, the bombings of Gaza, the massacres and the displacement.”

Macron, however, said France would not open an embassy to a Palestinian state until a ceasefire is in place in Gaza and all hostages are released.

The Palestinian Authority hailed France’s “historic and courageous” decision and its delegation gave him a standing ovation.

Australia, Britain, Canada and Portugal recognised a Palestinian state, piling pressure on Israel as it intensifies its war in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed not to allow a Palestinian state and far-right members of his cabinet have threatened to annex the West Bank to make statehood impossible.

Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon said Israel “will take action”.

“They are not promoting peace. They are supporting terrorism.”

US President Donald Trump “believes [recognising] is a reward to Hamas”, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told AFP before the summit: “We should not feel intimidated by the risk of retaliation.”

Palestinian Authority presses Hamas

Other countries recognising a Palestinian state on Monday included Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco and San Marino, according to Macron.

Spain, Ireland and Norway already recognised a Palestinian state in May, and Sweden did so in 2014.

The war was unleashed when Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza on October 7, 2023, bringing a relentless counter-attack by Israel.

An independent state would be centred around the Palestinian Authority, which exerts limited control in the West Bank, and is the rival of Gaza-based Hamas.

Israel has sought to minimise the distinction between the two, and Washington, in an unusual step, refused to allow Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas to attend.

The 89-year-old veteran Palestinian leader, forced to address the summit virtually, called on Hamas to surrender its weapons to his Palestinian Authority.

“We also condemn the killing and detention of civilians, including Hamas actions on October 7, 2023,” he said.

France co-hosted the summit with Saudi Arabia, which has flirted with normalisation with Israel, a top goal for Netanyahu.

The Saudi foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, told the summit that all countries should follow suit and recognise a Palestinian state.

Limited practical effect

Germany, Italy and Japan, while all critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza, are among major US allies that declined to recognise a Palestinian state.

“A negotiated two-state solution is the path that can allow Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace, security and dignity,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said.

Britain, which backed a Jewish homeland in 1917, said it would back off recognising a Palestinian state if Israel agreed to a Gaza ceasefire.

Instead, Israel launched a massive new campaign aimed at seizing Gaza City.

But recognition, while historic, is unlikely to change facts on the ground.

“Unless backed up by concrete measures, recognising Palestine as a state risks becoming a distraction from the reality, which is an accelerating erasure of Palestinian life in their homeland,” said the International Crisis Group’s Israel-Palestine project director, Max Rodenbeck.

The October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1219 Israelis, mostly civilians, according to official data.

Israeli military operations since then have killed 65,344 Palestinians, mostly civilians, says the Hamas-run health ministry, figures the UN considers reliable.

-Agence France-Presse