2 weeks Ago By RFI
As pressure mounts ahead of a key UN summit, France is weighing whether to recognise a Palestinian state – a move President Emmanuel Macron says could come within months. The two-state solution has been the guiding principle of French diplomacy in the Middle East for 70 years, and while the Palestinian issue has sometimes been sidelined, it's never really left the agenda. "We must move towards recognition [of a Palestinian state] and we will do so in the coming months," the French president said in an interview broadcast on television channel France 5.
He added that the move could be made at the UN conference due to be held in New York in June. "I will do it because I believe that at some point it will be right and because I also want to participate in a collective dynamic, which must also allow all those who defend Palestine to recognise Israel in turn," Macron said. Such recognition, he added, would allow France "to be clear in our fight against those who deny Israel's right to exist, which is the case with Iran, and to commit ourselves to collective security in the region".
Given its pioneering role in the Palestinian issue, this announcement may seem somewhat belated – 147 of the 193 member states of the United Nations already recognise the Palestinian state, including 12 of the 27 members of the European Union. In 1947, Paris voted in favour of the partition plan for Palestine adopted by the UN, then recognised the State of Israel a few months later. Ties were forged between the two countries.
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