An international conference, the brainchild of France, to recognize a Palestinian state, has lowered its sights.
Scheduled for June 16-18 at United Nations headquarters in New York, it will now focus on determining steps toward recognition rather than recognition itself.
The redefined goal signals a retreat from the conference’s earlier ambition of seeing a large bloc of countries, including France and the United Kingdom, recognize a Palestinian state, The Guardian reported on June 7.
French President Emmanuel Macron said recognizing “Palestine” “was not only a moral duty but a political necessity,” speaking during a press conference in Singapore on May 30.
That day, in response to Macron’s comments, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz promised to establish a “Jewish Israeli state” in Judea and Samaria.
“This is a decisive response to the terrorist organizations that are trying to harm and weaken our hold on this land—and it is also a clear message to Macron and his associates: They will recognize a Palestinian state on paper—but we will build the Jewish Israeli state here on the ground,” Katz said, according to a statement from his office.
Seeking to reduce tensions, French officials visited Israel earlier last week, assuring their counterparts that the conference would not jump to recognition.
Anne-Claire Legendre, Macron’s adviser for North Africa and the Middle East, and Romaric Roignan, director for the region at the French Foreign Ministry, told Israeli news site Ynet that declaring recognition would not be “unilateral.”
“Recognition of a Palestinian state remains on the table, but not as a product of the conference. It will remain a bilateral matter between states,” they said.
Recognition instead will be tied to certain conditions, including a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of the hostages, reform of the Palestinian Authority, economic recovery, and an end to Hamas’s rule in Gaza, The Guardian said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was reportedly furious at France’s decision to recognize a Palestine state. He repeatedly expressed his opposition to such a state, calling it a reward for terrorism.
“There was a Palestinian state. It was called Gaza,” Netanyahu said on Feb. 6. “Look what we received. The biggest massacre since the Holocaust. To establish a Palestinian state after Oct. 7 is a huge prize, not only for Hamas [but also] for Iran.”
Israelis from across the political divide have united in their opposition to a Palestinian state in the wake of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist massacre of more than 1,200 people, primarily civilians, in southern Israel.
In February 2024, the Knesset plenum voted 99-11 to back a Cabinet decision to reject any unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood.
All coalition members and most lawmakers from the opposition parties voted to support the Cabinet statement against “international diktats regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians.”
The Israeli government has recently warned some key European nations that any unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state could prompt Jerusalem to extend sovereignty over parts of Judea and Samaria.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer reportedly told France, the United Kingdom and other countries that any one-sided move could lead Israel to annex Area C of Judea and Samaria and legalize outposts.
“Unilateral moves against Israel will be met with unilateral moves by Israel,” Sa’ar told his counterparts, the Israel Hayom daily reported.
Several countries have moved ahead with Palestinian recognition, including Spain, Norway and Ireland.