Photo: Collected
Paris is ready to recognize Palestine as a state, but only when "it will be useful," French President Emmanuel Macron has told a joint news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
"I am fully prepared to recognize the state of Palestine, but I believe that this recognition must come at a time when it is useful. I will not recognize it led by 'emotions,'" Macron told the press conference on Tuesday (28 May).
The French president added that a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is a priority now. He also expressed the need for Israel to end the ongoing military operation in the city of Rafah.
Until this Tuesday, Palestine was recognized by nine EU member states. Eight countries Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania and Slovakia — recognized it in 1988 before joining the European Union, while Sweden did the same in 2014. Spain, Norway and Ireland officially recognized Palestine as a state earlier on Tuesday.
On Sunday, Israel struck a refugee camp northeast of Rafah. The Palestinian civil defense service said that at least 40 people died and dozens were injured as a result. On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the airstrike on the refugee camp a "tragic incident," adding that an investigation is underway. The Israel Defense Forces said that it used "precise munitions."
Israel sent troops into the city of Rafah on May 7, seven months after an attack by Palestinian movement Hamas on Israeli territory unleashed the worst escalation of conflict in the Gaza Strip in decades. Israel's war cabinet vowed to expand the operation in Rafah until it accomplished its declared goal of eliminating all Hamas fighters.
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