France’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state this September has triggered a sharp backlash from Israel and the United States. President Emmanuel Macron announced on Friday that France would formally recognise the State of Palestine during his address to the United Nations General Assembly in September, framing the decision as a necessary step toward peace.
“Consistent with its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognise the State of Palestine,” Macron said in a post on the social media platform X. “The urgent priority today is to end the war in Gaza and to bring relief to the civilian population. Peace is possible.”
The United States swiftly rejected the plan. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, also writing on X, called the move “reckless,” and warned it would undermine efforts to end the conflict and embolden extremist groups.
“This decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace,” Rubio wrote. “It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th.”
In Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the move, calling France’s recognition a reward for terrorism and a threat to Israeli security.
“A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel — not to live in peace beside it,” Netanyahu said. “Let’s be clear: the Palestinians do not seek a state alongside Israel; they seek a state instead of Israel.”
He added: “Macron’s announcement of his intention to recognise a Palestinian state is a disgrace and a surrender to terrorism, granting a reward and encouragement to the murderers and rapists of Hamas, who carried out the most horrific massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Instead of standing with Israel in this time of trial, the French president is acting to weaken it.”
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Although a mostly symbolic move, France is now the biggest Western power to recognize Palestine, and could pave the way for other countries to do the same. More than 140 countries have recognized a Palestinian state.
The Palestinians have long sought an independent state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza — territories Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war. While peace efforts have stalled for years, the question of Palestinian statehood has re-emerged with new urgency since the outbreak of the Gaza war and the humanitarian crisis that has followed.
