French President Emmanuel Macron took to X on Thursday to announce his intention for France to recognize the “State of Palestine” at the United Nations General Assembly next September.
“The French people want peace in the Middle East,” wrote Macron in a letter shared and translated to English on X. “It is up to us, the French, together with the Israelis, the Palestinians, and our European and international partners, to demonstrate that it is possible.”
The letter, addressed to the President of the Palestinian Authority, claimed that “peace is possible.”
Macron cited the need for an “immediate ceasefire” as well as the release of all hostages and humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza in his reasoning for France’s move. He also claimed that Hamas must be demilitarized and Gaza rebuilt in his letter.
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Israeli officials responded swiftly and sharply.
“We strongly condemn President Macron’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state next to Tel Aviv in the wake of the October 7 massacre,” Prime Minister Benajamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
“Such a move rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became. A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel — not to live in peace beside it. Let’s be clear: the Palestinians do not seek a state alongside Israel; they seek a state instead of Israel.”
Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Yariv Levin called the move “a black stain on France’s history and a direct boost to terrorism.”
He added: “The Land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel, and even President Macron’s declaration will not change that.” Levin called for Israel to apply sovereignty over Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley, calling it “a just and historic response to the shameful decision by the President of France.”
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Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli addressed Macron directly in a post on X, writing on behalf of the Israeli government and attaching a viral video that appears to show French First Lady Brigitte Macron slapping the president.
Knesset Member Avigdor Liberman also condemned the move, writing on X: “Recognition of a Palestinian state is a reward for terror and an encouragement to Hamas — an organization that committed the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. This is not justice, it is surrender to terror.”
The letter was delivered by the French Consul in Jersulaem, who declared via X that “France will proceed with the full recognition of the State of Palestine in September.”
France has taken increasingly staunch measures against Israel in its fight for peace in the Middle East recently.
Earlier this week, France signed a joint condemnation with over 20 other nations regarding the reported death of 800 Palestinians in Gaza at aid sites.
“We will achieve peace,” Macron concluded.
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The 2025 sessions of the United Nations General Assembly are set to begin Sept. 9.
Fox News’ Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.