French President Emmanuel Macron is planning to make a “high-profile diplomatic breakthrough” at the UN General Assembly on Monday, September 22, by announcing recognition of the state of Palestine along with several other countries. However, the division in Europe could derail his plan.
This is stated in the Politico article.
According to the publication, the limits of what he can achieve at the meeting are "quite obvious," but the chances that his efforts will persuade US President Donald Trump or Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war are "almost nonexistent".
It is noted that Macronʼs "big idea" is to announce in New York the recognition of the Palestinian state together with the United Kingdom, Belgium, Portugal, Luxembourg, Malta, Andorra, Australia and Canada.
The purpose of this move is to show that there is a global counterweight to Israelʼs support for the war in Gaza and to increase pressure for peace.
At the same time, according to the publication, even the French themselves admit that such an initiative is unlikely to have an immediate impact on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“Neither Israel nor the US will stop because of Macron,” the article says.
According to one European diplomat Politico spoke to, the bet was that “Israel would make some concessions” as international pressure mounted.
At the same time, another diplomat noted that as long as Israel has the support of "its great ally" — the United States with its "Iron Dome", this "changes nothing".
Meanwhile, Israel is debating measures to respond to France’s actions, and Netanyahu and his closest advisers are holding urgent talks to try to convince Macron to link France’s recognition of Palestine to the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
Politico notes that the list of participants for Macronʼs conference on Palestine looks "unconvincing", as most European leaders, even those close to him, have found reasons not to attend. In particular, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will skip the conference.
A senior Greek official who spoke to Politico also said the timing for such a move was unfortunate.
"We unconditionally support the creation of a Palestinian state. However, we believe that unilateral recognition will not yield useful results at this time," he stressed.
So far, there has not been enough support among EU countries to pass sanctions or tariffs against Israel, as this requires a qualified majority. However, this may change.
According to two diplomats in Brussels, if Israel continues to annex territories after Macronʼs conference, EU countries that have so far opposed any pan-European measures regarding the country, including Germany, may change their position.
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, Spain, Ireland and Norway officially recognized Palestine as a state, hoping that this would contribute to a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. In July, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he would recognize the Palestinian state in September at the UN General Assembly.
A little later, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reported that his country would also recognize Palestine in September. And the Swiss parliament rejected a proposal to recognize Palestine as an independent state.
France and 14 other countries signed a declaration on July 30 that recognizes 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”.
Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Damon criticized the statements of support for Palestine, calling them meaningless and playing into the hands of terrorists.
Author: Yulia Zavadska
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