PARIS, Feb 17 (Reuters/AP): The recognition of a Palestinian state is no longer a taboo for France, President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday, suggesting Paris could make the decision if efforts for a two-state solution stalled because of Israeli opposition.
A unilateral French recognition would do little to change the situation on the ground without true negotiations, but would weigh symbolically and diplomatically.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has voiced opposition to Palestinian sovereignty, saying he will not compromise on full Israeli security control west of Jordan and that this stands contrary to a Palestinian state.
French lawmakers voted in 2014 to urge their government to recognise Palestine, a symbolic move that had little impact on France's diplomatic stance.
Macron's comments were the first time a French leader had made such a suggestion and highlighted further impatience among Western leaders as casualties mount in Gaza from Israeli retaliation after an attack on Oct 7 by Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas that killed 1,200 people, and took 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
"Our partners in the region, notably Jordan, are working on it, we are working on it with them. We are ready to contribute to it, in Europe and in the Security Council. The recognition of a Palestinian state is not a taboo for France," Macron said alongside Jordan's King Abdullah II in Paris.
UN court rejects S African
request to safeguard Rafah
The top UN court on Friday rejected a South African request to impose urgent measures to safeguard Rafah in the Gaza Strip, but also stressed that Israel must respect earlier measures imposed late last month at a preliminary stage in a landmark genocide case.
The International Court of Justice said in a statement that the "perilous situation" in Rafah "demands immediate and effective implementation of the provisional measures" that it ordered Jan. 26.
It said no new order was necessary because the existing measures "are applicable throughout the Gaza Strip, including in Rafah."
The world court added that Israel "remains bound to fully comply with its obligations under the Genocide Convention" and the Jan. 26 ruling which ordered Israel to do all it can to prevent death, destruction and any acts of genocide in Gaza.
US plans to send
weapons to Israel
The Biden administration is preparing to send bombs and other weapons to Israel that would add to its military arsenal even as the US pushes for a ceasefire in Gaza, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing current and former US officials.
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