France will recognise the Palestinian state, President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday.

The decision is “consistent with [France’s] historic commitment to a just and lasting peace” in West Asia, Macron stated, adding that the formal announcement will be made before the United Nations General Assembly in September.

The French president noted that “the urgent priority today is to end the war in Gaza and to bring relief” to the civilians.

As of March, Palestine was recognised as a sovereign state by 147 out of the 193 United Nations members. Palestine has been a non-member observer state of the United Nations General Assembly since 2012.

France will become the first among the Group of Seven nations to recognise Palestine.

On Friday, Macron called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages and the delivery of humanitarian aid to the besieged Palestinian enclave.

“We must also ensure the demilitarisation of Hamas, secure and rebuild Gaza,” he said. “And finally, we must build the State of Palestine, guarantee its viability and ensure that by accepting its demilitarisation and fully recognising Israel, it contributes to the security of all in the region.”

“There is no alternative,” he added.

Following Macron’s announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the French recognition of Palestine “rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became”.

The United States, an ally of Israel that acts as a guarantor of the country’s security, said that it “strongly rejects” Macron’s decision.

In a social media post, US Secretary Marco Rubio said that the decision by Paris was “reckless” and “only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace”.

“It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th,” Rubio said.

Israel’s military offensive in Gaza began in October 2023 after the Palestinian militant group Hamas killed 1,200 persons during its incursion into southern Israel and took hostages. Israel has been carrying out unprecedented air and ground strikes on Gaza since then, leaving more than 61,000 persons dead.

Tel Aviv has also enforced a severe blockade on humanitarian aid, which UN officials say has brought the population to the verge of famine.

Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks. Earlier efforts to reinstate a brief ceasefire that took effect in January had stalled due to major disagreements between the two sides.