French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday officially recognized a Palestinian state at the UN, 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. “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.”
Photo: Reuters
However, Macron said France would not open an embassy to a Palestinian state until a ceasefire is in place in Gaza and all hostages released.
The Palestinian Authority hailed France’s “historic and courageous” decision and its delegation gave him a standing ovation.
Australia, the UK, Canada and Portugal also recognized a Palestinian state, piling pressure on Israel as it intensifies its war in Gaza.
Monaco, Belgium, Andorra, Malta and Luxembourg all recognized from the General Assembly podium, bringing the total number of recognitions to three-quarters of UN membership.
Spain, Ireland and Norway already recognized a Palestinian state in May, and Sweden did so in 2014.
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.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said Israel “will take action.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said ahead of the summit that “we should not feel intimidated by the risk of retaliation.”
However, recognition, while historic, is unlikely to change the facts on the ground.
“Unless backed up by concrete measures, recognizing Palestine as a state risks becoming a distraction from the reality, which is an accelerating erasure of Palestinian life in their homeland,” International Crisis Group Israel-Palestine project director Max Rodenbeck said.
In the streets of Ramallah — seat of the Palestinian Authority — screens were not showing the UN gathering where Macron announced the recognition.
“Of course [recognition] is a good thing, but even if the whole world recognizes it, Palestine’s situation will not improve,” Zain Abdel Wahab, 18, said on a quiet shopping street in Ramallah.
“The war on Gaza has lasted two years. What will this recognition bring us? Will the war end? No, it will continue,” he said, adding that economic conditions in the West Bank were deteriorating.
Rasha, a 37-year-old who gave only her first name, said she did not care about the move.
“The West ... is making a big deal out of it, but it does not make any difference for Palestinians, it does not make any change in our daily life,” she said.
“It’s too risky [to go to Jenin] because of all the settlers that are attacking us, and ... there are too many checkpoints now,” she added. “So much for their Palestinian state that they are recognizing.”
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