French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday that “consistent with its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East,” Paris intends to recognize a Palestinian state.
“I will make this solemn announcement before the United Nations General Assembly this coming September,” Macron stated. “The urgent priority today is to end the war in Gaza and to bring relief to the civilian population.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “strongly” condemned Macron’s decision “to recognize a Palestinian state next to Tel Aviv in the wake of the Oct. 7 massacre.”
“Such a move rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became,” Netanyahu stated. “A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel—not to live in peace beside it. Let’s be clear: the Palestinians do not seek a state alongside Israel. They seek a state instead of Israel.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said, “The French president’s pretension to create by mere words an illusory arrangement in our land is ridiculous and not serious,” adding that Macron’s latest statement showed that all the conditions he had set a few weeks ago had evaporated.
“All that remains is the illusory state he presumes to establish,” Sa’ar wrote on X. “A Palestinian state will be a Hamas state, just as the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip twenty years ago led to Hamas taking control of it. President Macron cannot provide security for Israel Let’s hope he succeeds in doing so on the streets of Paris. Israel’s attempt to base its security on Palestinian promises to fight terror completely failed in the Oslo process. Israel will no longer gamble on its security and its future.”
Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli wrote on X, “President @EmmanuelMacron, Here is the appropriate response to your recognition of a Palestinian state as a reward for Hamas terrorism,” posting a video from a 2017 incident in which Macron was slapped by a man during an election campaign appearance in Tain-l’Hermitage.
President @EmmanuelMacron,
— עמיחי שיקלי - Amichai Chikli (@AmichaiChikli) July 24, 2025
Here is the appropriate response to your recognition of a Palestinian state as as a reward for Hamas terrorism. pic.twitter.com/Ve6c5Op0hN
‘A slap in the face to victims’
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz posted on X, “Macron’s announcement of his intention to recognize a Palestinian state is a disgrace and a surrender to terrorism, granting a reward and encouragement to the murderers and rapists of Hamas, who carried out the most horrific massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust.”
He added, “Instead of standing with Israel at this challenging time, the French president is acting to weaken it. We will not allow the establishment of a Palestinian entity that would harm our security, endanger our existence, and undermine our historical right to the Land of Israel. We are all united to prevent this grave danger.”
Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, stated that “neither international conferences disconnected from reality nor unilateral statements at the United Nations will lead to peace.”
“Macron’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state after the massacre of Oct. 7 and precisely at a time when Hamas is still holding hostages is a disgraceful reward for terrorism,” Danon said. “Anyone who ignores the reality on the ground—that Israel has no partner for peace—harms not only Israel but the stability of the entire region.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington “strongly rejects” Macron’s plan.
“This reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace,” Rubio stated. “It is a slap in the face to the victims of Oct. 7.”
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) stated that Macron’s decision is “a shameful endorsement of terrorists” and that “the best way for this conflict to end is to back Israel in its righteous mission of rescuing the hostages and defeating Hamas.”
AIPAC stated that Macron “is acting as Hamas’s handmaiden” and is “rewarding Hamas’s barbaric attack on the Jewish state on Oct. 7.”
“This unilateral recognition makes peace and reconciliation even more elusive,” it said. “We urge the administration and Congress to express their opposition to the French government concerning this irresponsible action.”
Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas welcomed Macron’s affirmation that “France will officially recognize the State of Palestine during the upcoming United Nations General Assembly session in September.”
According to the Palestinian news agency, WAFA, “Abbas expressed deep appreciation for the courageous step by France, one that will contribute significantly to achieving peace based on the two-state solution in line with international legitimacy and international law.”
