France leads number of nations recognizing Palestinian state
UNITED NATIONS
France has taken center stage in a widening diplomatic drive to recognize a Palestinian state, setting out a plan for a U.N.-mandated international stabilization force in Gaza.
“The time has come to end the war in Gaza, the massacres and the death,” French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sept. 22 in a speech opening a special summit at the U.N. General Assembly in New York. “The time has come to do justice for the Palestinian people and thus to recognise the State of Palestine in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem.”
His remarks drew standing ovations from some delegates. The Palestinian Authority hailed the decision as “historic and courageous.” But Israeli officials dismissed the initiative, while the U.S. delegation did not attend the session.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also called for full U.N. membership for Palestine, saying, “This conference marks a milestone but it’s not the end of the road. It’s only the beginning.”
France joined the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia in recognizing Palestine, and by Sept. 22 night Monaco, Belgium, Andorra, Malta and Luxembourg followed suit. The moves brought the number of countries formally recognizing a Palestinian state to roughly three-quarters of U.N. membership.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres told the assembly that Palestinian statehood was a “right, not a reward.” He condemned both the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, and what he called the “collective punishment of the Palestinian people” through Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
Israel has warned it may respond to the growing wave of recognitions by annexing parts of the West Bank. The U.S. has cautioned its allies that such moves risk deepening the conflict, even as world leaders gather in New York for the U.N.’s 80th anniversary.
Macron’s plan calls for a U.N.-mandated force to oversee security in Gaza, disarm Hamas and train a restructured PA police force. The proposal would sideline Hamas, which the Arab League said in July should play no role in Gaza’s governance.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, addressing the summit virtually, urged Hamas to surrender its weapons to the PA. “We also condemn the killing and detention of civilians, including Hamas actions on Oct. 7, 2023,” he said.
The diplomatic push unfolded as Israel intensified its offensive in Gaza City. Palestinian officials reported at least 37 people killed on Sept. 22, including 30 in the city, where Israel says thousands of Hamas fighters remain entrenched.
Meanwhile, a growing number of experts, including those commissioned by a U.N. body, have said Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip amounts to genocide, deepening Israel’s isolation and risking untold damage to the country’s standing even among allies.
The accusation is vehemently denied by Israel, which was established in part as a refuge for Jews after the Holocaust. Others have rejected it or said only a court can make that determination.
Even so, global outrage over Israel’s wartime conduct has mounted in recent months, as images of starving children emerged, adding to the humanitarian catastrophe of a 23-month war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and laid waste to much of Gaza.
A current offensive in the territory’s largest city further raised concern, with some of Israel’s European allies condemning it. But the genocide accusation goes further, raising the question of whether a state forged in the aftermath of the crime is now committing it.
