France, 14 other nations urge recognition of Palestinian state

PARIS: France and 14 other Western nations called on countries worldwide to move to recognise a Palestinian state, France’s top diplomat said Wednesday.

The foreign ministers of 15 countries late Tuesday issued a joint statement following a conference in New York, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, aimed at reviving a two-state solution between Israelis and the Palestinians.

“In New York, together with 14 other countries, France is issuing a collective appeal: we express our desire to recognise the State of Palestine and invite those who have not yet done so to join us,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot wrote on X.

President Emmanuel Macron announced last week he would formally recognise Palestinian statehood in September, provoking strong opposition from Israel and the United States.

France is hoping to build a momentum around the formal recognition of a Palestinian state.

On Tuesday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the UK will formally recognise the State of Palestine in September unless Israel takes various “substantive steps”, including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza.

Starmer’s move, paired with Paris, would make the two European allies the first G7 nations to do so.

In the statement, 15 nations including Spain, Norway, and Finland affirmed their “unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-state solution.”

Nine of the signatories which have not yet recognised the Palestinian state expressed “the willingness or the positive consideration of their countries” to do so, including Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

Seventeen countries plus the European Union and Arab League during the conference joined calls for Hamas to disarm and end its rule of Gaza, in a bid to end the devastating war in the Palestinian territory.