“The recognition of a Palestinian state is not a taboo for France,” Macron added, the first time a French leader has made such a suggestion.
Macron’s comments highlight growing impatience among Western leaders as casualties mount in the Gaza Strip from Israeli bombings after the October 7 attack that killed 1,200 people and saw 253 hostages taken, according to Israeli tallies.
Under Israel’s retaliatory strikes, the death toll in Gaza has surpassed 28,000 people, according to the Gazan health ministry, and Israel’s offensive has left most of enclave’s 2.3 million people homeless.
“We owe it to the Palestinians, whose aspirations have been trampled on for too long. We owe it to the Israelis who lived through the greatest anti-Semitic massacre of our century. We owe it to a region that longs to escape those who promote chaos and those who sow revenge,” Macron said.
Nearly 140 countries have unilaterally recognized a Palestinian state, but no major Western power or G7 member has done so.
Unilateral recognition by France would, above all, carry diplomatic weight and ramp up pressure on Israel. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in November that recognizing a Palestinian state was “in Europe’s interest.”
