1 of 4 | French President Emmanuel Macron attends a meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., on August 18. He’s expected to formally recognize a Palestinian state during a speech Monday evening. File Photo by Aaron Schwartz/UPI | License Photo
France and Saudi Arabia plan to hold an international peace summit Monday in New York City where French President Emmanuel Macron and several other world leaders are expected to formally recognize a Palestinian state.
Macron is expected to make a formal announcement during a speech Monday evening, one day before the start of the 80th U.N. General Assembly, The Telegraph reported. Several other countries were expected to formally recognize Palestine as a sovereign state at the meeting, including Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta and San Marino, according to ABC News.
Australia, Britain, Canada and Portugal made their own declarations Sunday.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot called Monday’s peace summit with Saudi Arabia “a milestone for peace and a major diplomatic victory” nearly two years after a Hamas attack on Israel sent the region spiraling into war.
“France’s plan … aims for a two-state solution and includes concrete steps to prepare for the immediate post-war period … so that an international stabilization mission can come to Gaza to ensure the protection of both Palestinians and Israelis,” Barrot told French broadcaster TF1, according to a translation by CNN.
With Sunday’s announcements, more than 150 nations now recognize Palestine as a sovereign state. This doesn’t include G7 members Germany, Italy or the United States. Israel and the United States are expected to boycott Sunday’s summit.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hit out at the nations expressing their preference for a two-state solution Sunday, saying, “there will be no Palestinian state.”
Two unnamed sources told The Telegraph that the Israeli government is considering options for retaliating against France for recognizing Palestine, including possibly closing France’s consulate in Jerusalem.
The U.N. General Assembly on Friday voted 145-5 in favor of a motion to allow Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to address the international body this week in New York. Israel and the United States voted against the motion.
