France and 14 other countries signed a declaration of readiness to recognize the Palestinian state

France and 14 other countries have signed a declaration regarding the recognition of the State of Palestine. Its signatories “have already recognized, expressed or are expressing the readiness or positive opinion of our countries regarding the recognition of the State of Palestine”.

The document is called the "New York Call" and was published by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.

The signatories include Andorra, Australia, Canada, Finland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Portugal and San Marino, which have not yet recognized an independent Palestinian state. The declaration was also signed by Iceland, Ireland, Malta, Norway, Slovenia and Spain, which have already done so.

Before the end of the three-day UN conference, participating countries declared that they support the creation of two states — Israel and Palestine — living side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders.

The conference statement also emphasized that the Gaza Strip should be united with the West Bank under the administration of the Palestinian Authority.

This comes amid pressure on Israel, which continues its war in Gaza. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that London will recognize Palestine in September if Israel does not stop the war and support a peace settlement. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that he wants to recognize a Palestinian state to facilitate a breakthrough in negotiations.

Israelʼs UN Ambassador Danny Damon criticized statements of support for Palestine, calling them meaningless and playing into the hands of terrorists.

Status of Palestine

In 1947, the UN General Assembly voted to establish two independent states — Israel and Palestine — in the historic region of Palestine. However, this plan was never implemented.

In 1988, Palestine, which was partially under Israeli control, declared independence. It has now been recognized by more than 140 of the 193 UN member states, including Ukraine. Among the European states, Bulgaria, Hungary, Cyprus, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Sweden also recognize Palestineʼs independence. None of the G7 countries has recognized Palestineʼs independence.

Palestine has observer status in the UN, and full membership is only possible by decision of the UN Security Council, but it is blocked by the US.

On May 10, 2024, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution expanding Palestineʼs rights in the organization and calling on the Security Council to favorably review the countryʼs application to become the 194th member of the UN.

In 2024, Norway, Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and Armenia recognized Palestine as a state. In July, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he would recognize the Palestinian state in September at the UN General Assembly. And the Swiss parliament rejected a proposal to recognize Palestine as an independent state.

On July 21, 27 Western countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Australia, and Canada, issued a strong joint statement condemning Israelʼs actions and calling for an immediate end to the war. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that "the last lifelines that keep people [in Gaza] alive are collapsing", adding that humanitarian efforts were being hampered and threatened.

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