French President Emmauel Macron on Monday recognised a Palestinian state at a high-level summit ahead of the annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting.
Australia, Britain, Canada and Portugal had already made the declaration of recognition on the eve of the summit.
They were also joined by Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, and San Marino.
French President Emmauel Macron on Monday recognised a Palestinian state, followed by the leaders of five other countries, at a high-level summit ahead of the annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting in New York. The meeting, which was co-convened by France and Saudi Arabia, also saw Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, and San Marino recognise a Palestinian state.
"The time for peace has come, as we are just moments away from no longer being able to seize it," Macron told the summit.
“It falls on us, this responsibility, to do everything in our power to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution. Today, I declare that France recognises the state of Palestine,” he added.
Macron asserted that the time had come to “free the 48 hostages held by Hamas, to stop the war, the bombings of Gaza, the massacres and the displacement.”
Australia, Britain, Canada and Portugal had already made the declaration of recognition on the eve of the summit. The fresh batch of nations now join around 143 out of 193 UN member states that had already formally recognised Palestinian statehood as of April this year.
Following the declarations, international pressure has piled up on Israel which has expanded its efforts to capture all of Gaza. Israel has repeatedly warned France against recognising a Palestinian State, with far-right members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government mulling annexation of the West Bank to make any state impossible, AP reported.
Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, warned, "We will take action."
"It's easier to come here and give speeches, take pictures, feel like they are doing something. But they are not promoting peace. They are supporting terrorism," he told reporters.
The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also reiterated his support for the two-state solution. He claimed it to be the only viable path towards peace after years of failed negotiations and ongoing violence.
Guterres said that statehood for Palestinians “is a right, not a reward”, rejecting US and Israeli claims that it was a reward for Hamas.
