France is pushing European states—including the United Kingdom, and European Union members—to recognise Palestine as a state at a United Nations conference in June.
French President Emmanuel Macron imagines that this will lead to Israel-Gaza peace talks, especially if Middle Eastern countries, such as conference co-host Saudi Arabia, can be persuaded to recognise Israel.
Israel sees such recognition as a ‘rewarding’ Hamas for the October 7th, 2023 pogrom, where Hamas broke an existing ceasefire, took hostages and slaughtered 1,200 people—primarily Jews (in line with its founding document).
Last month, Macron said that the time was right to “move toward recognition,” but his diplomatic moves did not bring the end of the conflict any nearer. More seriously, they show the failure of France, like other Western states, to support Israel in its hour of need.
