
Image source, Reuters
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- Author, Redacción*
- Author's title, BBC News World
“There is no alternative,” said the president of France, Emanuel Macron, announcing on Thursday that his country will officially recognize the Palestinian State.
It is the first G7 nation to make this decision.
In a message posted in X, Macron said he would make the formal announcement in September, before a session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
“The urgent need today is that the war in Gaza ends and that the civilian population is rescued. Peace is possible. We need immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages and enormous humanitarian assistance for the people of Gaza,” he wrote.
Palestinian officials received Macron's decision, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the measure “rewards terror” after Hamas's attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023.
For his part, the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said his country “strongly rejects” Macron's announcement, qualifying the “irresponsible” decision.
The G7 is the group of the main industrialized nations that, in addition to France, includes the US, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Canada and Japan.
In his message on Thursday in X, Macron wrote: “Faithful to his historical commitment of a fair and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognize the state of Palestine.”
“We must also guarantee the demilitarization of Hamas and strengthen Gaza's security and reconstruction,” he added.
“Finally, we must build the state of Palestine, ensure its viability, and ensure that by accepting demilitarization and complete recognition of Israel, it will contribute to the security of everything Middle East. There is no alternative.”
The president of France also attached a letter to the president of the Palestinian Authority (AP), Mahmoud Abbas, confirming his decision.
In response to the announcement of Macron, the vice president of the AP, Hussein al-Sheikh, commented: “This position reflects France's commitment to international law and its support for the right of self-determination of the Palestinian people and the establishment of our independent state,” according to the AFP news agency.
On the other hand, Hamas indicated that the decision of the French government was a “positive step in the right direction” and urged all countries of the world “to follow the example of France.”
Condemn from Israel and the United States
Benjamin Netanyahu responded sharply to the measure in his account in X: “We strongly condemn President Macron's decision to recognize a Palestinian state next to Tel Aviv after the massacre of October 7”.
He also said that the measure of one of his close allies “rewards terror and risks the creation of another Iran agent.”
“A Palestinian State in these conditions would be a launch platform for the annihilation of Israel, not to live in peace by their side. Let's be clear: the Palestinians do not look for a state next to Israel; they look for a state instead of Israel,” Netyahu concluded.
The Israeli defense minister, Israel Katz, joined the condemnation of Macron's announcement calling him “a shame and a surrender to terrorism,” ensuring that Israel would not allow the establishment of a “Palestinian entity that would harm our security and endanger our existence.”
Image source, Getty Images
For his part, the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, also went to the social network X to criticize France: “This irresponsible decision only serves the propaganda of Hamas and delays peace. It is a slap to the victims of October 7”.
According to the Reuters news agency, Israeli officials have spent months pressing to avoid Marcron's statement, even warning the government of France, according to its sources, of reprisals in its bilateral relations.
In a diplomatic cable, the US government confirmed its opposition to a unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, indicating that it would go against Washington's foreign policy interests and generate consequences. “
“Inalienable” right
But both the position of Israel and the United States goes against the international current.
At present, more than 140 of the 193 members of the UN recognize the state of Palestine.
Among these are countries of the European Union, such as Norway, Ireland and Spain.
Precisely, Pedro Sánchez, the Spanish head of government, received positively declaration from his French counterpart.
It is significant that France, as a member of the powerful G7 group, is the first to adopt the position in favor of the Palestinian people. However, others such as the United Kingdom have not recognized a Palestinian State, although they have given indications of being inclined to make that decision.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement on Thursday that he would be calling an “emergency call” with the leaders of France and Germany this Friday to discuss “that we can urgently do to stop the massacre.”
The state category is an “inalienable right of the Palestinian people,” said Starmer, adding that a ceasefire “would lead us to the recognition of a Palestinian state and a solution of two states.”
The Starmer's statement happens before the growing pressure he faces, including that of the parliamentarians of his own party, so that the United Kingdom follows the example of France.
This Friday, most of the parliamentarians of the Foreign Affairs Committee, which examines British foreign policy, called an immediate recognition of the state of Palestine, adding that the measure should be taken “while there is still a state to recognize.”
“An inalienable right would not drink to be conditional,” said the committee report.
The Saudi Arabia Ministry of Arabia praised France's decision, saying that “the consensus of the International Community on the Law of the Palestinian People to Self -Determination and the establishment of an independent State.”
Image source, Getty Images
Israel's army launched a relentless military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas's armed incursion in southern Israel, in which some 1,200 people died and another 251 were taken as hostages.
From that, at least 59,106 people have died in Gaza to date, according to the figures of the Ministry of Health of the Territory.
Much of Gaza has been reduced to debris since then.
On Thursday, previously, the UN Agency for Palestine refugees in the Middle East (UNRWA) reported that one in five children in the city of Gaza is malnourished and that cases increased every day.
More than 100 international assistance organizations and human rights groups have also warned of a massive famine in the Gaza Strip, pressing governments to take action.
Israel, who controls the income of all supplies to the Palestinian territory, has repeatedly said that the strip is not besieged, accusing Hamas of any case of malnutrition.
* With information from Jaroslav Lukiv by BBC News.
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