Israeli leaders responded with anger and condemnation after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France will recognize the State of Palestine during the upcoming UN General Assembly session in September. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move "rewards terror" and accused Macron of legitimizing Hamas following the group's Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel. "I strongly condemn President Macron's decision to recognize a Palestinian state next to Tel Aviv in the wake of the October 7 massacre," Netanyahu said in a statement. "A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel — not to live in peace beside it." Netanyahu warned that the recognition could result in "another Iranian proxy," comparing a future Palestinian state to Hamas-controlled Gaza. French President Macron said the decision is part of France's "historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East," and emphasized that the recognition will be formally announced in September at the UN. Israel's Justice Minister Yariv Levin denounced the move as a "disgrace in French history" and called for retaliatory steps, including the annexation of the occupied West Bank. "Now is the time to apply sovereignty to Judea and Samaria," he said, using the Israeli government's terminology for the West Bank. Defense Minister Israel Katz accused Macron of weakening Israel at a critical moment. "Instead of standing by Israel at this critical moment, the French president chooses to weaken us," he said. "We will never allow the creation of a Palestinian entity that threatens our existence." The Yesha Council, representing Israeli settlers in the West Bank, also called on the government to respond by extending full Israeli sovereignty over the territory. Macron's declaration adds France to the growing list of countries pushing for recognition of Palestinian statehood, joining 149 out of 193 UN member states that already officially recognize the State of Palestine. — Agencies
