France could announce it is recognising a Palestinian state at a UN conference in New York in June, President Emmanuel Macron has said.
“We must move towards recognition, and we will do so in the coming months,” Macron, who this week visited Egypt, told France 5 television.
“Our aim is to chair this conference with Saudi Arabia in June, where we could finalise this movement of mutual recognition by several parties,” he added.
Macron suggested the surprise move would be part of a “collective dynamic” in which those on the Palestinian side would be asked to stress their own acceptance of Israel.
“I will do it because I believe that at some point it will be right and because I also want to participate in a collective dynamic, which must also allow all those who defend Palestine to recognise Israel in turn, which many of them do not do,” said the president, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Macron said the development would allow France “to be clear in our fight against those who deny Israel’s right to exist – which is the case with Iran – and to commit ourselves to collective security in the region.”
But this stance is likely to infuriate Israel, have says such moves by foreign states are premature.
