France to recognise Palestine as a 'state' soon: Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that France will soon recognise Palestine as a “state,” stating that such a move would clarify France’s position in opposing those who "deny Israel’s right to exist.”

Macron expressed intentions to pursue this course of action at the UN conference in New York in June over the ongoing unrest in the Middle East, specifically in Gaza. 

Notably, the conference would be chaired by Islamic countries’ representative, Saudi Arabia. 

Sepeaking to France 5, Macron stated, "Our aim is to chair this conference with Saudi Arabia in June, where we could finalise this movement of mutual recognition (of a Palestinian state) by several parties."

 “We must move towards recognition, and we will do so in the coming months,” he added.

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"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," AFP quoted Macron.

Macron asserted that such recognition would allow France to be clear in its fight against those “who deny the existence of Israel.” 

Countries in the Middle East that do not recognise Israel include Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.  

However, Palestinian authorities welcomed Macron’s comment, as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Varsen Aghabekian Shahin stated that it would be a “step in the right direction in line with safeguarding the rights of Palestinian people and the two-state solution.” 

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On the contrary, Israeli Minister Gideon Saar maintained that any “unilateral recognition” of Palestine as a state would be a “boost for Hamas”. 

“These kind of actions will not bring peace, security and stability in our region closer – but the opposite: they only push them further away,” he said.

Notably, Palestine has been recognised as a sovereign state by 146 out of 193 UN countries so far.