France joins other Western countries in recognizing Palestinian state

ISLAMABAD: France recognized a Palestinian state at a world summit in New York on Monday, nearly two years into the war in Gaza, joining Western allies such as Britain and Canada, who made the same historic move on Sunday and were rebuked by Israel, according to Reuters.

"We must do everything within our power to preserve the very possibility of a two-state solution, Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security," the summit host, French President Emmanuel Macron, said at the beginning of a planned three-hour session at the United Nations.

"France recognizes the State of Palestine," he added to applause.

"We can no longer wait," he says, adding that recognition is a necessary step to break the spiral of violence and secure peace, CNN reported.

Announcing France's recognition of a Palestinian state, Macron told the UN that "nothing justifies the ongoing war" in Gaza. But he stressed that giving Palestinians rights does not take away from the rights of the Israelis.

Change on the ground 

While the event, convened by France and Saudi Arabia, could boost the morale of Palestinians in their long search for statehood, it is not expected to deliver change on the ground, Reuters reported.

The most far-right government in Israel's history has declared there will be no Palestinian state.

Israel has become increasingly isolated and drawn global condemnation over its war on Gaza, where more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to local health authorities. In recent weeks, Israel has begun a long-threatened ground assault on Gaza City with few prospects for a ceasefire.

Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg and San Marino were also expected to recognize a Palestinian state on Monday ahead of this week's UN General Assembly, after Australia, Britain, Canada and Portugal did so at the weekend. Malta made the announcement earlier on Monday.

Israel has said such moves will undermine the prospects of a peaceful ending to the conflict in Gaza.

Oslo Accords

The two-state solution was the bedrock of the US-backed peace process ushered in by the 1993 Oslo Accords. The process suffered heavy pushback from both sides and has all but died.

No such negotiations over a two-state solution have been held since 2014.

The United States and Israel boycotted Monday’s meeting. Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon said Israel would discuss what action to take in response to the announcements of recognition after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returns to Israel next week.

“Those issues were supposed to be negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians in the future,” he told reporters ahead of the meeting.

The United States has told other countries that Palestinian recognition will create more problems, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier this month.

Israeli aggression 

Amid Israel's intensified Gaza offensive and escalating violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, there is a growing sense of urgency among some nations to act now before the idea of a two-state solution vanishes forever.

France has driven the move, hoping that Macron's announcement in July that he would recognize a Palestinian state would give greater momentum to a movement hitherto dominated by smaller nations that are generally more critical of Israel.

A delegation representing the State of Palestine has observer status at the United Nations - but no voting rights.

US veto 

No matter how many countries recognize Palestinian independence, full UN membership would require approval by the Security Council, where the US has a veto.

European divisions and Israeli response

While the majority of European countries now recognize a Palestinian state, two of the continent's largest economies, Germany and Italy, have signaled they are unlikely to make such a move soon.

Germany, long a strong supporter of Israel because of its responsibility for the Holocaust, has grown more critical of Israeli policy, while insisting that recognition of a Palestinian state should come at the end of a political process to agree on a two-state solution.

No further annexations

The German government spokesperson also said on Monday that there must be no further annexations in Israeli-occupied territory.

Italy said recognizing a Palestinian state could be "counterproductive."

On the ground, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected numerous calls to end the war until Hamas is destroyed and has said he will not recognize a Palestinian state.

Netanyahu said in a statement on Sunday that he will announce Israel's response to Palestinian state recognition when he returns from the US, where he is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump.

Israel is considering annexing part of the occupied West Bank as a possible response, as well as specific bilateral measures against Paris, Israeli officials have said, even though the recognitions are expected to be largely symbolic.

The US has warned of possible consequences for those who take measures against Israel, including France as host of the summit, Reuters reported.

50 Palestinians killed

At least 50 Palestinians were killed yesterday in Israeli strikes on Gaza and the war has overall killed more than 65,000 people in the enclave, according to the health ministry, CNN reported.