In an interview with France 5 television channel, Macron announced on Wednesday, upon his return from a visit in Egypt, that France could recognize a Palestinian state “in June” on the occasion of a conference that France will co-chair with Saudi Arabia at the United Nations in New York.
France’s Jewish group Crif denounced Macron’s announcement as “precipitate” and “ill-timed” in the current context. The organization asks: “How can we consider recognizing a state when part of its territory is controlled by a terrorist organization?”
A recognition of a Palestinian state by France, which could take place in June according to French President Emmanuel Macron, would be “a reward for terrorism”, declared Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.
“A ‘unilateral recognition’ of a fictitious Palestinian state, by any country, in the reality we all know, will be a reward for terrorism and a boost for Hamas,” Saar said Wednesday on social network X.
“These kinds of actions will not bring peace, security and stability to our region, but the opposite: they will only drive them further away,” he added.
In an interview with France 5 television channel, Macron announced on Wednesday, upon his return from a visit in Egypt, that France could recognize a Palestinian state “in June” on the occasion of a conference that France will co-chair with Saudi Arabia at the United Nations in New York.
President Macron’s announcement provoked a reaction from the Conseil représentatif des institutions juives de France (Crif), the umbrella organization of Jewish institutions in France.
In a press release, the Crif denounced the initiative as “precipitate” and “ill-timed” in the current context. The organization asks: “How can we consider recognizing a state when part of its territory is controlled by a terrorist organization?”
The Jewish group pointed out that 59 hostages are still being held in Gaza, and that recognizing a Palestinian state now would be tantamount to “allowing Hamas to claim an unacceptable political victory”.
The organization also stressed that this announcement comes at a time when “the ongoing war began with the massacre of over 1,200 people, including 50 French citizens, on October 7, 2023”, an event that Macron himself had described as “the greatest anti-Semitic massacre of the 21st century”.
Strong reactions against Macron’s statement came also from the opposition political parties. Laurent Wauquiez, the leader of the right-wing deputies said : “When France receives congratulations from Hamas… I’m ashamed.”
Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally also opposed the initiative: “Recognizing a Palestinian state as early as June, as Emmanuel Macron proposes, would be tantamount to giving Hamas, an Islamist and terrorist movement, the status of a legitimate interlocutor.” While acknowledging that “the horizon of a two-state solution must remain”, he believes that this “requires guarantees of peace and security” which, in his view, “are not currently met”.
Faced with the controversy sparked by his announcemen, President Macron was keen to clarify his position on X.
“I read everything and anything here about our intentions for Gaza. France’s position is clear: Yes to peace. Yes to Israel’s security. Yes to a Palestinian state without Hamas,“ he wrote, adding that this ”requires the release of all hostages, a lasting ceasefire, the immediate resumption of humanitarian aid and the search for a two-state political solution.”
The French president stressed the importance of the conference scheduled for next June, which he described as a potential “turning point”. “I defend the legitimate right of the Palestinians to a state and to peace, as well as that of the Israelis to live in peace and security, both of which are recognized by their neighbors,” he added.
In May 2024, Ireland, Norway and Spain took the step to recognize a ‘’Palestinian state’’, followed by Slovenia in June.