French President Emmanuel Macron embraces Riyad H. Mansour, Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, United States, on Sept. 22, 2025. (Credit: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)
France and several other countries on Monday recognized the "State of Palestine" from the podium of the United Nations, in what they described as a historic move aimed at increasing pressure on Israel to end the war in Gaza — though the step remains largely symbolic for now.
“France today recognizes the State of Palestine,” French President Emmanuel Macron declared solemnly to applause at the opening of the U.N. General Assembly’s annual session in New York, dominated this year by discussions of the Gaza war.
“The time has come to stop the war, the strikes in Gaza, the massacres, and the displacement of populations. … The time for peace has come, because we are moments away from losing the chance to seize it,” he said.
Macron added, however, that the opening of a French Embassy in a future Palestinian state would depend on the release of hostages held in Gaza.
Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, San Marino and Andorra also formally recognized Palestine at the meeting, which was held without Israel or the United States. Belgium adopted what Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot described as a “two-step recognition”: a political signal now, followed by formal legal recognition later through a royal decree.
Like Israel, which denounced the decision already taken Sunday by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Portugal, the U.S. criticized the move. U.S. President Donald Trump, a close ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “believes that recognizing the State of Palestine is a reward for Hamas,” his spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said.
Macron spearheaded the summit, co-chaired with Saudi Arabia, on the future of a two-state solution. The effort followed months of intense diplomacy to rally as many countries as possible and shape a peace plan.
The push led to overwhelming General Assembly approval of a resolution supporting a future Palestinian state but explicitly excluding Hamas — a condition demanded by many Western nations.
Germany, Italy hold back
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, denied a U.S. visa and speaking by video, pledged that Hamas would play no role in a future Palestinian government.
“Hamas and other factions must hand over their weapons to the Palestinian Authority,” he said, while also condemning the Oct. 7 attacks.
According to an AFP tally, at least 151 of the U.N.’s 193 member states now recognize Palestine.
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan urged all others to take a “similar historic step,” though recognition does not change the Palestinians’ observer status at the U.N., since full membership remains blocked by the U.S.
“The State of Palestine must be a U.N. member,” argued Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, a strong critic of Israel.
Germany said it does not plan to recognize Palestine in the short term. Italy also held back, though demonstrations took place on Monday across the country to “denounce the genocide in Gaza.”
In France, nearly 100 left-wing–led municipalities raised the Palestinian flag on their city halls in celebration of the recognition.
Gaza war, West Bank annexation
Some diplomats warned of possible Israeli retaliation. Netanyahu said Sunday there would never be a Palestinian state, threatening instead to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank. Two far-right Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, went further, calling for the annexation of the occupied territory.
“We must not be intimidated by the risk of reprisals,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told AFP in an interview Friday, citing both the Gaza war and “the creeping annexation of the West Bank.”
Netanyahu’s speech to the General Assembly on Friday is highly anticipated, as is Trump’s on Tuesday.
Max Rodenbeck of the International Crisis Group said any effort to support Palestinian rights is “welcome,” but warned that without “concrete measures,” these recognitions risk “distracting from the reality, which is the accelerated erasure of Palestinian life from their homeland.”
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