French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday his country would formally recognise a Palestinian state during a UN meeting in September, the most powerful European nation to announce such a move.
At least 142 countries now recognise or plan to recognise Palestinian statehood, according to an AFP tally -- though Israel and the United States strongly oppose the move.
Several countries have announced plans to recognise statehood for the Palestinians since Israel launched a bombardment of Gaza in 2023 in response to the October 7 attacks by Islamist militant group Hamas.
Macron's announcement drew immediate anger from Israel, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying it "rewards terror" and poses an existential threat to Israel.
Netanyahu said in a statement that the decision "risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became", which would be "a launch pad to annihilate Israel -- not to live in peace beside it".
Senior Palestinian Authority official Hussein al-Sheikh welcomed the move, saying it "reflects France's commitment to international law and its support for the Palestinian people's rights to self-determination and the establishment of our independent state".
Hamas hailed Macron's pledge as a "positive step in the right direction toward doing justice to our oppressed Palestinian people and supporting their legitimate right to self-determination".
"We call on all countries of the world --especially European nations and those that have not yet recognised the State of Palestine -- to follow France's lead," it added.
International concern is growing about the plight of the more than two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where the fighting has triggered a dire humanitarian crisis and warnings of mass starvation.
Israel has rejected accusations it is responsible for Gaza's deepening hunger crisis, which the World Health Organization has called "man-made" and France blamed on an Israeli "blockade".
Macron said the "urgent priority today is to end the war in Gaza and rescue the civilian population".
"We must finally build the State of Palestine, ensure its viability and enable it, by accepting its demilitarisation and fully recognising Israel, to contribute to the security of all in the Middle East," he wrote on social media.
On the streets of the occupied West Bank, Palestinians told AFP that they hoped other countries would now follow suit.
Mahmoud al-Ifranji called France's pledge "a moral commitment" and a "political victory for the Palestinian people".
Another man, Nahed Abu Taima, said he hopes France's decision will help lead to peace.
"This recognition will lead to the recognition of Palestine by a number of countries in Europe and the world," he added.
Macron said he intended to make the announcement at the UN General Assembly in September.
While France would be the most significant European power to recognise a Palestinian state, others have hinted they could do the same.
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced he would hold a call on Friday with counterparts in Germany and France on efforts to stop the fighting, adding that a ceasefire would "put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state".
Norway, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia all announced recognition following the outbreak of the Gaza conflict, along with several other non-European countries.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, whose country already recognises Palestinian statehood, welcomed Macron's announcement.
"Together, we must protect what Netanyahu is trying to destroy. The two-state solution is the only solution," the Socialist leader, an outspoken critic of Israel's offensive in Gaza, wrote on X.
Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry hailed Macron's announcement as "historic" and urged other countries to follow suit.
Ireland's Foreign Minister Simon Harris in a post on X called France's move "the only lasting basis for peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike".
Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed 59,587 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
With AFP
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