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Hamas has responded positively to French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent statement indicating that France could formally recognise a Palestinian state by June.
Mahmud Mardawi, a senior Hamas official, described the move as “an important step,” especially amid growing international calls for justice and self-determination for Palestinians.
“We welcome the statements made by French President Emmanuel Macron regarding his country’s readiness to recognise the State of Palestine,” Mardawi told AFP.
He added that if France follows through on this announcement, it would mark a “positive shift in the international position towards the legitimate national rights of our Palestinian people.”
France’s Role in Shaping Global Consensus
Macron made the announcement during an interview with France 5 television, while visiting Egypt earlier this week. He suggested the recognition could come as early as June during a United Nations conference in New York.
“We must move towards recognition, and we will do so in the coming months,” he said.
Mardawi emphasized France’s weight on the global stage. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, France has significant influence.
“France, as a country with political weight and a permanent member of the (UN) Security Council, has the ability to influence the course of fair solutions and push towards ending the occupation and achieving the aspirations of the Palestinian people,” he stated.
Those aspirations, he noted, include “freedom, independence and the establishment of their state on their land, with Jerusalem as its capital.”
From the West Bank, Palestinian minister of state for foreign affairs Varsen Aghabekian Shahin echoed a similar sentiment. She called France’s potential recognition “a step in the right direction in line with safeguarding the rights of the Palestinian people and the two-state solution.”
However, the announcement sparked criticism from Israel. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned Macron’s remarks, labeling them a dangerous incentive for Hamas.
“These kind of actions will not bring peace, security and stability in our region closer — but the opposite: they only push them further away,” he wrote on X.
To date, nearly 150 countries have recognised Palestinian statehood. That list grew in mid-2024 with Ireland, Norway, and Spain, followed by Slovenia in June. These recognitions were, in part, driven by international outrage over the high civilian toll in Gaza after Israel’s military offensive, which was launched in response to a Hamas-led attack in October 2023.
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