Crif - France Must Renounce Recognizing a Palestinian State on June 18

Paris, June 5, 2025

Two months ago, the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron announced that he was considering recognizing a Palestinian state in June, as part of a conference in New York, which was also supposed to include recognition of Israel by regional states, as well as, among other things, the release of the 56 hostages still being held in Gaza and the surrender of Hamas.

Today, as was unfortunately foreseeable, it must be acknowledged that none of the conditions set out by the President of the Republic himself have been met.

Having taken the lead in forming a coalition of Western countries in favor of recognizing a Palestinian state, France now has the responsibility to declare that, unfortunately, the necessary conditions are not in place, and that no recognition of a Palestinian state can take place in June.

If President Emmanuel Macron were to go ahead with it, recognizing a Palestinian state in the coming days would be both a diplomatic mistake and a moral and political failure.

Diplomatically, first of all, offering the Palestinians at the start of a process what they are supposed to gain at the end is counterproductive: it would encourage the Palestinian side to make no concessions, and would therefore not serve the cause of peace, which relies on mutual concessions from both sides.

Morally, recognizing a Palestinian state now, without any counterpart and while hostages are still being held in Gaza, would be handing Hamas a symbolic victory. After 50 French citizens were murdered by Hamas, the group would present the recognition of a Palestinian state as a trophy and a reward for the terrorism of October 7.

Politically, recognizing a Palestinian state now would be to align with La France Insoumise (LFI) and with agitators who distort the Palestinian cause to attack French Jews.

More broadly, this diplomatic episode raises a serious question: are the old demons of France's so-called "Arab policy" making a comeback?

Eighteen months ago, the President of the Republic proposed an international coalition against Hamas. France is the only country in the world to have organized a national tribute to the French victims of October 7, and it has twice participated in defending Israel against attacks from Iran. And yet, our country now appears to be leading a coalition pushing prematurely toward the recognition of a Palestinian state—in open and deliberate opposition to Israel.

CRIF reaffirms its support for all peace processes based on dialogue between the parties.

Everyone hopes the time for peace will come as soon as possible—with the release of hostages, the surrender of Hamas, and a just and lasting peace for both Palestinians and Israelis.

But in the meantime, decency and realism demand that we acknowledge the current impasse: the presence of a terrorist organization holding 56 Israeli hostages, undermining even the Palestinian civilian population itself, which has been plunged into the tragic suffering of war by Hamas.

To recognize a Palestinian state unilaterally and without any guarantees today would be to reward Hamas and condemn the paths of peace.