French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attend a meeting during the European Political Community summit in Tirana on 16 May 2025. (Credit: Leon Neal/Pool/AFP)
The U.K. and France are set to drop earlier plans to recognize a Palestinian state at an upcoming conference, according to diplomatic sources, the Middle East Eye (MEE) reported Saturday.
France had been pressing the U.K. and other European partners to support recognition during the event in New York, scheduled for 17 to 20 June.
French President Emmanuel Macron had previously called such recognition “a moral duty and political requirement,” indicating it might be part of a broader deal in which Saudi Arabia would normalize ties with Israel during the summit.
However, The Guardian reports that French officials informed their Israeli counterparts this week that the conference would no longer serve as the occasion for formal recognition, according to MEE.
Instead, the event will now center on mapping out steps toward recognition, which would depend on “a series of measures and concessions from the Palestinians.”
The U.K. and France will no longer push for recognition of a Palestinian state at the upcoming New York conference, according to diplomatic sources. Instead, the event — scheduled for 17 to 20 June — will focus on outlining conditions for future recognition.
Among the prerequisites being considered are a lasting cease-fire in Gaza, the release of Israeli hostages, reforms within the Palestinian Authority, economic reconstruction and the dismantling of Hamas’s control in Gaza.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot stated on Friday that recognizing a Palestinian state at this stage would have been a “symbolic” act. He added that France has a “particular responsibility” as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, and should not proceed without allied support.
Kenneth Roth, the former Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, raised concerns that the steps laid out could become a pretext for endless delay. “Those steps should not be an endless [nonexistent] ‘peace process’ but pressure on Israel to stop obstructing a state,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Despite 147 countries having already recognized Palestine, much of Europe has hesitated, maintaining that any recognition should be coordinated with Israel and accompanied by gestures from Arab nations.
However, Ireland, Spain and Norway extended recognition to Palestine last year, reflecting a growing belief that unilateral recognition could serve as leverage to push Israel toward concessions.
Last week, Israeli diplomat Alon Pinkas told Middle East Eye that France’s efforts to recognize Palestine were “serious and have the backing of most of the European Union and Saudi Arabia.” Nevertheless, the UK and France have come under pressure from the United States to scale back their plans, while Israel has vowed to expand settlements in retaliation.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described the intention to build 22 more settlements in the occupied West Bank as “a strategic move that prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state.”
In July 2023, the Israeli parliament overwhelmingly voted against the creation of a Palestinian state, with support limited to Palestinian legislators and a lone left-wing Jewish MP.
Pinkas commented that there is little support for Palestinian statehood within Israel, but that the international message to the country should be: “We are your friends, we want you to succeed, this cannot go on ... Netanyahu is driving you to unmitigated and irreparable disaster. Wake up, we are here to help.”