Recognizing a Palestinian state ‘not a taboo’ for France, Macron says

Recognition of a Palestinian state is “not a taboo” for Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday, indicating that France could make a unilateral decision if efforts toward a two-state solution don’t move forward due to opposition from Israel.

Following the Hamas militant group’s unprecedented assault on Israel on October 7 and Israel’s large-scale retaliatory attacks in Gaza, France has emphasized that only a two-state solution can bring peace to the region.

“Our partners in the region, notably Jordan, are working on it; we are working on it with them. We are ready to contribute to it, in Europe and in the [United Nations] Security Council,” Macron said during a visit by King Abdullah II of Jordan to the Élysée Palace in Paris.

“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.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday rejected international recognition of a Palestinian state outside of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, arguing that such a move would “offer a huge reward to terrorism.”

Macron on Friday also warned of the “unprecedented humanitarian disaster” and the “turning point” that would be caused by an Israeli ground invasion of Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than 1 million Palestinians have sought refuge.