France says international summit on 'Palestinian state' scheduled for September

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a French diplomatic source revealed on Wednesday that an international summit on the recognition of a Palestinian state is scheduled for September, ahead of the annual UN General Assembly in New York. The issue – considered controversial – will be discussed in the context of the ongoing conflict between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas in Gaza. The source said the upcoming conference aims to “advance the recognition of a Palestinian state for a certain number of states who have not yet recognized it, including France.”

The source added that the conference will also focus “on normalization and Israel’s regional integration with Arab and Muslim countries.” This is likely a reference to the hope that Saudi Arabia and other Muslim-majority states will join the American-brokered Abraham Accords, which led diplomatic normalization between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan in 2020. 

France and Saudi Arabia, which advocated the disarmament of Hamas, originally planned to host the international conference in June. However, the summit was cancelled after Israel’s large scale Operation Rising Lion military offensive against Iran’s nuclear and military assets. 

The foreign ministry in Paris confirmed that the French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot is scheduled to attend the international summit in September. The French President Emmanuel Macron has been increasingly critical of Israel’s military operations against Hamas operatives in Gaza. He has at the same time called for the implementation of the two-state solution. Last week, Macron proposed that France and the United Kingdom jointly recognize the Palestinian Authority as a de facto state. 

Last May, Spain, Ireland and Norway unilaterally recognized a Palestinian state despite protests from the Israeli government that such a diplomatic move constituted a major reward for anti-Israel terrorism and violence following the Hamas Oct. 7 massacre of 1,200 Israelis and kidnapping of 251 people in southern Israel in 2023.

The atrocities led to the ongoing war, which has so far lasted for 22 months. A whopping 85% of the Arabic-speaking population in Gaza, Judea and Samaria (internationally known as the West Bank) expressed support for the largest single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust in a poll that was published in November 2023. Since then, support for Hamas has declined in Gaza due to the widespread destruction. However, Hamas’ ideology continues to receive significant support, particularly in Judea and Samaria. Neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority officially recognizes Israel’s right to exist as an independent Jewish state.

While the Trump administration backs regional normalization and peace in the Middle East, it has been critical of unilateral diplomatic moves by some Western governments including France. 

Last month, the U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee criticized France for unilaterally pushing for the two-state solution amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Iranian-led terrorist proxy network consisting of Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the Houthis and other Tehran-loyal militias. 

“It’s incredibly inappropriate in the midst of a war that Israel is dealing with to go out and present something that I think increasingly Israelis are steadfast against,” Huckabee stated in an interview with Fox News. 

Huckabee stressed that the events of Oct. 7 dramatically changed the reality in the Middle East. The U.S. Ambassador suggested that Paris could establish a “Palestinian state” on the French Riveria. 

"Oct. 7 changed a lot of things. If France is really so determined to see a Palestinian state, I have a suggestion for them – carve out a piece of the French Riviera and create a Palestinian state. They are welcome to do that, but they are not welcome to impose that kind of pressure on a sovereign nation. And I find it revolting that they think they have the right to do such a thing,” Huckabee said.