The Hamas terrorist organization on Thursday night welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement that France would officially recognize “the State of Palestine”.
“We view this as a positive step in the right direction toward achieving justice for the Palestinian people and supporting their legitimate right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital on all the occupied lands. This is a political development that reflects growing international recognition of the justness of the Palestinian cause,” said the murderous terror organization in a statement.
“We call on all countries in the world - especially European nations and those that have not yet recognized the State of Palestine - to follow France’s lead and fully recognize the national rights of our people, foremost among them the right of return, self-determination, and the establishment of an independent and sovereign state,” Hamas added.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced Macron’s announcement.
"We strongly condemn President Macron’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state next to Tel Aviv in the wake of the October 7 massacre. Such a move rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became. A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel — not to live in peace beside it. Let’s be clear: the Palestinians do not seek a state alongside Israel; they seek a state instead of Israel," he said.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar criticized Macron and said, “The French President's pretension to create by mere words an illusionary arrangement in our land is ridiculous and not serious. His statement this evening shows that all the conditions that he himself set a few weeks ago - have evaporated. All that remains is the illusionary state he presumes to establish.”
“A Palestinian state will be a Hamas state, just as the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip twenty years ago led to Hamas taking control of it,” added Sa’ar.