French President Emmanuel Macron wants to pull off a grand diplomatic coup on Monday by rallying several Western countries to recognise a Palestinian state, Politico writes.
According to the publication, Germany and Italy will not join his initiative, and it is unlikely that his efforts could sway US President Donald Trump or Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war.
Paris is proposing to announce recognition of a Palestinian state by a number of countries – France, Britain, Belgium, Portugal, Luxembourg, Malta, Andorra, Australia and Canada. A French official called the move a “diplomatic victory” for Paris.
Journalists say Macron’s ultimate goal is to show that there is a global counterweight to Trump’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza and to increase pressure for peace.
According to one European diplomat, who was granted anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic, the bet was that “Israel will give in” as international pressure on it grows.
But the diplomat conceded that the risk did not seem to live up to expectations: “it doesn’t seem to be happening. The US is backing Israel and accelerating annexation in the West Bank.”
Another diplomat noted that as long as Israel has the support of “its great ally the United States and its Iron Dome … it doesn’t change anything.”
For many observers, however, Macron’s aspiration is less about immediate influence than about creating a turning point in Europe’s relationship with Israel.
On 12 September, the UN General Assembly approved a resolution in support of the so-called New York Declaration – a statement drafted at the initiative of France and Saudi Arabia outlining principles for a peaceful settlement in the Middle East based on the creation of an independent Palestinian state with no Hamas (recognised as a terrorist group in the US and EU) in power.
Resolutions of the UN General Assembly are not binding, but they are indicative of the balance of power in the World Organisation. The majority of EU countries, the UK, many Arab countries, China, Ukraine and the Russian Federation voted in favour of the resolution. Israel, the US, Hungary, Argentina and Israel were against. Iran did not vote, and several countries, notably Moldova and the Czech Republic, abstained.
France and several other states are expected to recognise Palestinian independence by the end of September. They stress that the Palestinian state should be demilitarised and live in peace with Israel, and Hamas should not be involved in governance. The war in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in general are expected to be a central theme at the upcoming session of the General Assembly with the participation of many leaders.