The U.S. sharply condemned the announcement by France’s President Emmanuel Macron that he wants to recognize a Palestinian state in September, while several other countries, as well as Hamas, signaled their support.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said his country “strongly rejects” Macron’s plan.
“This reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace. It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th,” he wrote on 𝕏.
U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee ridiculed the plan, noting on 𝕏 that “Macron’s unilateral ‘declaration’ of a ‘Palestinian’ state didn’t say WHERE it would be. I can now exclusively disclose that France will offer the French Riviera & the new nation will be called ‘Franc-en-Stine’.”
In another post, he wrote: “How clever! If Macron can just ‘declare’ the existence of a state perhaps the UK can ‘declare’ France a British colony!”
France has mulled a public recognition of a Palestinian state for several months. According to reports in June, a diplomatic cable showed the U.S. opposes any unilateral recognition, threatening consequences as such a move would directly contradict U.S. foreign policy interests.
The French AFP news agency said that 142 countries have now declared their recognition of a Palestinian state or intend to do so. Several countries, including Spain, Ireland and Norway, announced their recognition last year.
However, the U.S. and most major Western countries have not done so yet. Recognition by France, home to both the largest Jewish and Muslim populations in western Europe, as well as the E.U.’s only nuclear power and only permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, would have a substantially different weight.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, quickly praised Macron’s announcement.
“Together, we must protect what Netanyahu is trying to destroy. The two-state solution is the only solution,” the Socialist leader who has taken a vocally anti-Israeli position during the war wrote on 𝕏.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would call his colleagues in Germany and France to discuss a possible Gaza ceasefire, noting this would “put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state.”
The French declaration was met with praise by Hamas, as well as the Palestinian Authority (PA).
