France officially recognises Palestinian statehood at UN meeting
UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal recognised Palestine; Palestinians expect 10 nations to extend recognition in coming days.
France Recognises Palestinian Statehood as Gaza War Rages, Offering Symbolic Glimmer of HopeExplosions echo daily across the besieged strip, families continue to flee their homes, and in the West Bank, settlement expansion grinds on. Against this backdrop of despair, the United Nations witnessed a moment of historic symbolism on Monday: France officially recognised the state of Palestine.
At the start of a high-profile UN meeting devoted to reviving hopes for a two-state solution, French President Emmanuel Macron stood before world leaders and delivered words that instantly made headlines.
state of Palestine,” Macron announced.
The declaration was met with a wave of applause. Members of the Palestinian delegation, including their UN ambassador, Riyad Mansour, rose to their feet, clapping with emotion. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, banned from traveling to the US for the meeting, appeared on a live video stream, smiling faintly and applauding from afar.
# A Defiant Gesture
France’s recognition, though mostly symbolic, carries weight. It comes at a moment when the United States and Israel stand firmly against such moves, calling them premature and dangerous. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the step outright, warning it would only embolden Hamas, the militant group still entrenched in parts of Gaza. He even hinted Israel might respond with unilateral actions, including annexing parts of the West Bank — a measure that could make a future Palestinian state nearly impossible.
Yet, for many Palestinians, France’s move mattered less for its immediate consequences and more for the hope it stirred.
“This is a beginning, or a glimmer of hope, for the Palestinian people,” said Fawzi Nour al-Deen, balancing a bag on his head as he walked south with thousands fleeing Gaza City. “We are a people who deserve to have a state.”
# Voices of Resistance and Caution
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric shrugged off Netanyahu’s threats, insisting the international community must not lose sight of the bigger picture. “We have to be determined in achieving the goal that we want to achieve,” he said.
The United Arab Emirates, one of the Arab nations that normalized ties with Israel under the 2020 Abraham Accords, also drew a line. Officials called any move toward annexation a “red line”, though they stopped short of outlining what concrete consequences Israel might face if it crossed it.
# A Divided Palestinian Political Landscape
France’s recognition also shines a light on the deep political divisions among Palestinians themselves. President Abbas’ Palestinian Authority (PA) governs limited parts of the West Bank, recognizes Israel, and has long cooperated with it on security. It remains committed to a negotiated two-state solution.
Yet the PA is deeply unpopular at home, often seen by Palestinians as corrupt and authoritarian. Its rivals, Hamas, swept the last Palestinian national elections back in 2006 and still controls Gaza. Hamas continues to formally demand all the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, though at times it has hinted it might settle for a state based on the pre-1967 borders.
This fragmentation makes the dream of unity elusive, even as foreign governments express support for Palestinian statehood.
France, alongside Saudi Arabia, has been pushing a phased plan: reform the Palestinian Authority, give it international backing, and eventually expand its governance to include Gaza as well as the West Bank. The plan won overwhelming support at the UN General Assembly on September 12, with 142 nations voting in favor, 10 opposing, and 12 abstaining.
For Paris, recognition is a way of signaling commitment to that roadmap, even as violence in Gaza and the West Bank tells another story entirely.
# Hope Amid Despair
In the streets of Gaza, gestures from faraway capitals may feel hollow. Children sleep in crowded shelters. Parents scramble to find bread and water. Bombs continue to fall. Still, some cling to the symbolic power of recognition.
“It doesn’t stop the airstrikes, but it tells us the world still sees us,” said a young man waiting in line for aid in Khan Younis. “That matters.”
Recognition may not shift realities on the ground overnight, but it adds a thread of legitimacy to Palestinian aspirations at a time when many feel abandoned. For some, it’s a reminder that their struggle is not entirely forgotten.
As the meeting at the UN continued, world leaders debated, applauded, and argued. Outside the chamber, the war ground on. France’s move may not change the trajectory of the conflict right away, but for Palestinians who have endured decades of occupation and repeated wars, it offered at least a glimmer of hope in the darkness.