At a UN summit next month, France has been pressuring EU nations including the UK, the Netherlands, and Belgium to collectively recognize the state of Palestine.
By having some European countries formally recognize Palestinian statehood and several Middle Eastern states formally recognize Israel, French President Emmanuel Macron had planned to utilize the occasion to kickstart peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
“”The war, the displacement [of Palestinians], and the violence of extremist settlers have undermined the two-state solution more than ever before, despite the fact that it is more necessary than ever,”
a French official stated.
But France has been obliged to lower expectations for the conference it is co-hosting with KSA because to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza brought on by Israel’s bombing campaign and its three-month siege, which severely restricts residents’ access to food, water, and medicine.
“The Arab countries prefer sanctions to statehood,”
a EU diplomat stated.
Last week, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokeswoman stated that the UK was prepared to collaborate with regional partners and nations to “do what we can to support the foundations of Palestinian statehood.”
In response to the Palestinians’ decades-long demand, Paris and Britain would be the first G7 countries to recognize the state of Palestine. Israel has frequently attacked French diplomatic initiatives, claiming they legitimate Hamas and essentially compensate the terrorist organization for the terror assault in October 2023. Regarding Paris and London’s recognition of Palestine, the Israeli administration is probably going to say the same thing.
Spain, including Norway and Ireland joined the 140 other UN member nations who recognize the state of Palestine last year. Israel is not recognized by many nations in Middle East and North African countries.
French officials have long warned that Paris will only recognize Palestinian statehood if it improves the peace process, but they have stated for years that Paris is on the verge of doing so. French president declared in April that it was time to take the next stage toward recognition and take part in a collaborative approach that would recognize both Israel and a Palestinian state.
According to Michel Duclos, a former ambassador to Syria and fellow at the Institut Montaigne, publicly recognizing a Palestinian state would now appear more like a rebuke than a step toward peace as the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip worsens. He declared, “It would be a condemnation of Israel.”
EU recognition of the Palestinian territory, according to Duclos, might “inspire Arab countries to specify their requirements for normalizing relations with Israel.” According to the French ambassador cited above, Paris hopes that during the June 17–20 summit in New York, Middle Eastern governments would continue to take “steps” toward normalisation.
The US, Israel’s closest friend and biggest military supporter will ultimately determine whether or not the bloodshed in the Gaza Strip and, to a lesser extent, the West Bank is stopped. Furthermore, there is no indication that Washington is yet prepared to recognize a Palestinian state, despite EU officials pointing to a change in Trump’s stance toward Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
