By John Irish and Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -France recognized a Palestinian state at a world summit in New York on Monday, nearly two years into the war in Gaza, joining Britain, Canada and other Western allies who made the same historic move on Sunday and were rebuked by Israel.
While the announcement at the event convened by France and Saudi Arabia could boost the morale of Palestinians in their long search for statehood, it was not expected to deliver change on the ground.
The most far-right government in Israel’s history has declared there will be no Palestinian state as it pushes on with its fight against militant group Hamas in Gaza following the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed some 1,200 people.
Israel has become increasingly isolated and drawn global condemnation over its military conduct in Gaza, where more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to local health authorities. In recent weeks, Israel has begun a long-threatened ground assault on Gaza City with few prospects for a ceasefire.
“We must pave the way for peace,” French President Emmanuel Macron said at the beginning of a planned three-hour session at the United Nations.
“We must do everything within our power to preserve the very possibility of a two-state solution, Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security,” he said before announcing the diplomatic move drawing lengthy applause from the audience.
Macron outlined a framework for a “renewed Palestinian Authority” under which France would open an embassy subject to factors such as reforms, a ceasefire and the release of all remaining hostages taken from Israel and held by Hamas in Gaza.
Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg and San Marino were also expected to recognise a Palestinian state on Monday ahead of this week’s U.N. General Assembly, after Australia, Britain, Canada and Portugal did so at the weekend. Malta made the announcement earlier on Monday.
Israel has said such moves will undermine the prospects of a peaceful ending to the conflict in Gaza.
“We call on those who have not yet done so to follow suit,” Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said via video link, as he was unable to attend the milestone events after being refused a U.S. visa.
“We call for your support so that Palestine becomes a full-fledged member of the United Nations,” he added, promising reforms and elections within a year of a ceasefire.
A delegation representing the State of Palestine has observer status at the United Nations – but no voting rights. No matter how many countries recognise Palestinian independence, full U.N. membership would require approval by the Security Council, where the U.S. has a veto.
The two-state solution was the bedrock of the U.S.-backed peace process ushered in by the 1993 Oslo Accords. The process suffered heavy pushback from both sides and has all but died.
No such negotiations over a two-state solution have been held since 2014.
The United States and Israel boycotted Monday’s meeting. Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said Israel would discuss how to respond to the announcements of recognition after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returns to Israel next week.
“Those issues were supposed to be negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians in the future,” Danon told reporters ahead of the meeting. Netanyahu is scheduled to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday in Washington before returning to Israel.
The United States has told other countries that Palestinian recognition will create more problems, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier this month.
Amid Israel’s intensified Gaza offensive and escalating violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, there is a growing sense of urgency among some nations to act now before the idea of a two-state solution vanishes forever.
France has driven the move, hoping that Macron’s announcement in July that he would recognise a Palestinian state would give greater momentum to a movement hitherto dominated by smaller nations that are generally more critical of Israel.
EUROPEAN DIVISIONS AND ISRAELI RESPONSE
While the majority of European countries now recognise a Palestinian state, two of the continent’s largest economies, Germany and Italy, have signalled they are unlikely to make such a move soon.
Germany — long a strong supporter of Israel because of its responsibility for the Holocaust — has grown more critical of Israeli policy, while insisting that recognition of a Palestinian state should come at the end of a political process to agree on a two-state solution.
The German government spokesperson also said on Monday there must be no further annexations in Israeli-occupied territory.
Italy said recognising a Palestinian state could be “counterproductive”.
On the ground, Netanyahu has rejected numerous calls to end the campaign until Hamas is destroyed and has said he will not recognise a Palestinian state.
Israel is considering annexing part of the occupied West Bank as a possible response as well as specific bilateral measures against Paris, Israeli officials have said, even though the recognitions are expected to be largely symbolic.
Annexation could backfire and alienate such countries as the United Arab Emirates, a global oil power and trade hub with wide diplomatic clout across the Middle East.
The United Arab Emirates, the most prominent of the Arab states that normalised ties with Israel under the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020, has said such a move would undermine the spirit of the agreement.
The U.S. has warned of possible consequences for those who take measures against Israel, including France as host of the summit.
(Reporting by John Irish in Paris and Michelle Nichols at United Nations; additional reporting by Dominique Vidalon in Paris, Maha El Dahan in Dubai, Reuters Television in Gaza and the West Bank and Gwladys Fouche in Oslo and Dmitry Antonov in Moscow; Writing by John Irish, Michelle Nichols, Michael Georgy and Costas Pitas; Editing by Howard Goller and Sharon Singleton)
