French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that France will establish formal diplomatic relations with Palestine, and Europe is increasingly demanding an end to the fighting in Gaza, writes Politico.
Macron announced in a statement published online that, adhering to the historic commitment to ensuring lasting peace in the Middle East, he has decided that France will recognize Palestinian statehood. He promised to make an official announcement at a UN meeting in September.
“The urgency today is to end the war in Gaza and to provide aid to the civilian population. The French people want peace in the Middle East. It is up to us, the French, together with the Israelis, the Palestinians, and our European and international partners, to demonstrate that it is possible,” wrote Macron.
Shortly after Macron’s announcement, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer scheduled a call with Britain’s E3 partners, France and Germany, to discuss what needs to be done to urgently end the killing and deliver critically needed food to the population. In his harshest statement yet on the Middle East,
Starmer said the suffering and hunger unfolding in Gaza were “indescribable and unjustifiable.”
He added that statehood was an inalienable right for the Palestinians.
Responding to Macron’s announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that a Palestinian state under such circumstances would be a “launching pad” for Israel’s destruction, not peaceful coexistence. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Macron’s statement was a disgrace and a capitulation to terrorism that glorifies the murderers and rapists of Hamas.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington did not support Macron’s decision, calling it a slap in the face to the victims of the Hamas attack.
Eleven of the 27 European Union member states have already recognized Palestine as a state, including Spain, Romania, Sweden, Ireland and Bulgaria.
Several European leaders have signaled they will take a tougher stance on Israel.
Meanwhile, the death toll in the Israeli-besieged Gaza Strip is approaching 60,000. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called reports of the situation in Gaza “intolerable” and called for an immediate end to the hostilities. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has spoken out harshly against Israel after it attacked a Catholic church in Gaza, killing three people.
The UN has warned that Israel is denying Gazans access to basic resources, and the number of deaths from starvation is rising. Meanwhile, Israel denies the blockade and accuses the UN of not providing aid. The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, reported in early July that an agreement had been reached with Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza. The EU is considering imposing sanctions on Israel following revelations of human rights abuses.
Read also: Kallas calls for better humanitarian aid for Gaza