French President Macron says France will recognise Palestine as state
Paris (AP/PTI): French President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday that France will recognise Palestine as a state, in a bold diplomatic move amid snowballing global anger over people starving in Gaza. Israel denounced the decision.
Macron said in a post on X that he will formalise the decision at the UN General Assembly in September. “The urgent thing today is that the war in Gaza stops and the civilian population is saved," he wrote.
The mostly symbolic move puts added diplomatic pressure on Israel as the war and humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip rage. France is now the biggest Western power to recognise Palestine, and the move could pave the way for other countries to do the same. More than 140 countries recognise a Palestinian state, including more than a dozen in Europe.
The Palestinians seek an independent state in the occupied West Bank, annexed east Jerusalem and Gaza, territories Israel occupied in the 1967 Mideast war.
"We strongly condemn President Macron's decision," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. "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."
The Palestinian Authority welcomed it. A letter announcing the move was presented Thursday to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Jerusalem.
"We express our thanks and appreciation" to Macron, Hussein Al Sheikh, the PLO's vice president under Abbas, posted. "This position reflects France's commitment to international law and its support for the Palestinian people's rights to self-determination."
The United States “strongly rejects" Macron's plan to recognise a Palestinian state, Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote in a post on the social platform X.
"This reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace. It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th," Rubio said.
"Given its historic commitment to a just and sustainable peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognise the state of Palestine," Macron posted. "Peace is possible."
Thursday's announcement came soon after the US cut short Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar, saying Hamas wasn't showing good faith.
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Minor girl kidnapped and raped; main accused and two cafe owners held
Latur (PTI): A minor girl was allegedly kidnapped and raped by an 18-year-old man in Latur, leading to the arrest of the main accused and owners of two cafes where the crime occurred on December 4, police said on Saturday.
Police traced the girl within hours of registering the complaint. The accused, identified as Rihan Gulab Shaikh, was arrested based on the girl's complaint. Two others are owners of two cafes where the crime occurred, police said.
Police registered a case under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), POCSO Act, and the Prevention of Atrocities Act, an official said.
