Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, on Thursday denounced French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement that France would officially recognize the “State of Palestine”.
Macron had said that a formal announcement will be made during the United Nations General Assembly in September.
“Neither international conferences disconnected from reality nor unilateral statements at the UN will lead to peace. Macron's decision to recognize a Palestinian state after the massacre of October 7 and precisely at a time when Hamas is still holding hostages is a disgraceful reward for terrorism,” said Danon.
“Anyone who ignores the reality on the ground - that Israel has no partner for peace - harms not only Israel but the stability of the entire region,” added the Israeli Ambassador.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier responded to Macron's announcement and said, "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," added Netanyahu.
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.