RAMALLAH, Palestine/ISTANBUL

Palestine welcomed on Wednesday French President Emmanuel Macron’s commitment to recognizing a Palestinian state.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry praised Macron’s speech to the British Parliament on Tuesday, in which he reiterated France’s commitment to supporting a two-state solution and said that recognizing Palestine is part of French efforts to revive the peace process.

In his speech, Macron said that calls for an unconditional cease-fire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas are “simply a message to the world that we, as Europeans, do not apply double standards.”

“A two-state solution and the recognition of the State of Palestine are the only way to build peace,” he said, adding that Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza poses a threat to the entire region.

The Palestinian ministry urged other European countries that have not yet recognized Palestine to follow France’s suit and fulfill their political and legal obligations to support an independent Palestinian state and a just solution to the Palestinian cause.

In February, Macron said that recognizing Palestine is “not a taboo” for France. So far, 149 out of 193 UN member states have recognized the State of Palestine, and Palestinian leaders hope for more recognition during upcoming international events.

A planned conference, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, was set to take place at the UN headquarters in New York in mid-June to discuss ways to advance a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. However, Macron announced its postponement following Israel’s attacks on Iran, which began on June 13 and lasted 12 days.

The Israeli army has killed nearly 57,700 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages and a spread of disease.