France, several other European states formally recognize State of Palestine

“I declare that today France recognizes the state of Palestine,” French President Emmanuel Macron said at an international conference on Palestine in New York on Monday, ahead of the start of this week’s UN General Assembly.

He said that the recognition “paves the way for useful negotiations, (and is) useful for Israelis and Palestinians” working toward “a peace and security plan for all.”

Speaking at the high-level conference, Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Luc Frieden also formally declared his country’s recognition of the state of Palestine, calling it “the beginning of a renewed commitment” to hope, diplomacy, and coexistence.

He noted that the decision was aimed at reviving the prospect of “peace” based on international law and the UN Charter.

Malta’s Prime Minister Robert Abela also confirmed his country’s recognition of Palestine, saying, “What is happening in Gaza is morally and legally very wrong, and we have a duty on all of us to act.”

San Marino, Malta, and Monaco followed France and other countries in recognizing Palestinian statehood.

Andorran foreign minister, Imma Tor Faus, said that Palestinians “should live in peace and security within their own state.”

She called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, describing the situation there as “unbearable,” and pointing to hunger “used as a weapon of war” by Israel and mass forced displacement.

Addressing the conference, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called for Palestine to be admitted as a full UN member state “as soon as possible”.

He slammed the Zionist regime’s war on Gaza, saying “we have to stop this slaughter now,” as bombs continue to fall “indiscriminately on the civilian population” in the strip.

“History will judge us, and its verdict will be brutal with those who perpetrated this slaughter and with those who remain silent or turned a blind eye,” he added.

Michael Martin, the prime minister of Ireland, which joined Spain, Norway, and Slovenia in recognizing Palestine last year, also described the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza as “an affront to the world.”

“We have reached a point where what has been credibly described as a genocide is being carried out in front of the eyes of the world.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the momentum, noting that “the state of Palestine has been recognized by the majority of EU member states.”

A day earlier, Australia, Canada, Portugal, and the United Kingdom formally made the move to recognize Palestine.

Now, more than 80 percent of the international community is recognizing the State of Palestine.

Palestine welcomes recognition of Palestinian state

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the decisions as “an important and necessary step towards achieving a just and lasting peace in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions.”

Abbas also called for a ceasefire in Gaza, the entry of aid into the strip, and a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the strip, as well as an end to Israeli violence in the occupied West Bank.

Earlier, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry had hailed the French move as a “historic and courageous decision” that aligns with international law and UN resolutions, and supports “efforts made to achieve peace and implement the two-state solution.”

The ministry urged other countries that have not yet recognized Palestine to follow France’s lead and to push for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza started on October 7, 2023, after Palestinian resistance fighters carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel in response to the regime’s decades-long campaign of death and destruction in the occupied West Bank.

The Zionist regime’s bloody onslaught on the besieged strip has so far martyred more than 65,344 Palestinians, mostly women and children.