France and 10 Countries Recognize Palestine: A Major Shift at the UN Summit 2025
The wave of international recognition of the State of Palestine continues, as France, along with ten other countries, prepares to officially announce its recognition at a summit held today, Monday, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, to discuss the future solution for the States, given the bloody war in the Gaza Strip.
This early recognition is the culmination of a months-long diplomatic process, led by Saudi Arabia and France, aimed at increasing pressure on Israel and linking the future of peace in the region to the creation of a Palestinian state.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday in an interview with CBS: "If we want to isolate Hamas, the recognition of the Palestinian state and the peace plan that accompanies it is a prerequisite.
The Palestinians want a homeland, and if we do not offer them a political horizon, they will find themselves with Hamas as the only solution.
In parallel with France's decision to officially recognize the State of Palestine, the municipality of Saint-Denis, in Paris, announced that it had raised the Palestinian flag on its town hall, thus confirming the new French position.
Paris hopes that small European countries such as Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, and Saint-Marin will join it, bringing the total to 11 new countries. This brings the number of countries recognizing Palestine to 147 out of 193 UN member states, according to statistics from Agence France-Presse.
Previous Western recognitions
A day before the summit, Sunday marked a major turning point: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Portugal announced their official recognition of the State of Palestine, marking a change of position among some of Israel's closest traditional allies.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his country recognized the Palestinian state "to preserve the hope of peace", noting that this recognition was a parallel step to the imposition of additional sanctions against Hamas figures.
For his part, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada offers its partnership to build a peaceful future for the Palestinian and Israeli peoples. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, for his part, stressed that this recognition was part of a coordinated international effort aimed at reviving the two-state solution and a ceasefire in Gaza.
Divergent positions
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed Sunday's recognitions, calling them a step towards "a just and lasting peace". However, he will not be able to attend the summit in person, the United States having refused to grant him, as well as his delegation, visas.
In turn, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has intensified his speech, pledging not to authorize the creation of a Palestinian state and describing these recognitions as "a threat to the existence of Israel" He also called for opposing what he described as "false propaganda" at the United Nations, pledging to present the "truth" during his speech to the General Assembly next Friday.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the world should not be afraid of Israeli reactions, stressing that Tel Aviv was pursuing "a policy of destruction of Gaza and annexation of the West Bank".
With the accession of France and the United Kingdom, Palestine will have been recognized by four of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (China and Russia have recognized it since 1988). The United States continues to oppose this recognition, calling the move "spectacular" and calling for "emphasis on serious diplomacy."
Comments
Post a Comment