France on Tuesday backed away from a unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, stating that such recognition would not be included in the final declaration of the international summit slated to be held in New York in about two weeks.
On the same day, a senior adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Israel and presented the summit's objectives to senior officials at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem. The summit, to be organized jointly by France and Saudi Arabia, stems from a decision passed by the United Nations General Assembly in late 2024.
The French diplomat explained that the summit is meant to help Israel. She said the vision behind the event includes a demand for the release of hostages, a clear call for Hamas to be disarmed, a stipulation that the terrorist organization will not be part of any future governance in Gaza, and a commitment by the Palestinian Authority to cease paying salaries to terrorists and to remove incitement against Israel from school textbooks.
Macron's envoy added that Arab states participating in the summit are expected to endorse these demands, which, she said, align with Israel's interests—interests France supports. However, it remains unclear at this stage which countries will actually back these positions. The French envoy also did not clarify whether Macron ultimately intends to recognize a Palestinian state unilaterally. She described such recognition as a "lever" to promote the summit's goals.
Israel is firmly opposed to the summit, stressing that any unilateral move by European states will be met with reciprocal unilateral steps by Israel, foremost among them the extension of Israeli law to Judea and Samaria.
Officials in Jerusalem still suspect that Macron may surprise Israel by ultimately moving forward with unilateral recognition, even though for now he is leaving the question open.
It should be noted that beyond the matter of unilateral recognition, the summit's agenda includes the formation of eight working groups, some of which will operate in direct opposition to Israel's positions.
