The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stéphane Séjourné, affirmed that the conditions for recognizing a State of Palestine are not met “to date for this decision to have a real impact” on the process aimed at the two-state solution, while three European countries are preparing to recognize this state.
The recognition of a State of Palestine “is not a taboo for France” but Paris believes that the conditions are not met “to date for this decision to have a real impact” on the process aimed at a two-way solution. States, the head of French diplomacy reacted to AFP on Wednesday. “This decision must be useful, that is to say allow a decisive step forward on the political level,” underlined Stéphane Séjourné in a written statement. “In this perspective, it must intervene at the right time so that there is a before and an after,” he added.
Spain, Ireland and Norway ready to recognize Palestinian state
Stéphane Séjourné, who received his Israeli counterpart Israel Katz in Paris on Wednesday morning, believes that “it is not only a symbolic question or a political positioning issue, but a diplomatic tool in the service of the solution of two States living side by side, in peace and security.
In the midst of war in the Gaza Strip between the radical Islamist movement Hamas and Israel, Spain, Ireland and Norway announced on Wednesday their coordinated decision to recognize a State of Palestine in the hope of bringing in their wake ‘other countries. Israel immediately reacted by announcing the recall “for consultations” of its ambassadors in Ireland and Norway.
Hamas, on the contrary, welcomed “an important step” towards the affirmation of the “right to land and the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital”. Recognition by Norway, Spain and Ireland is due to take effect on May 28.