Israel has been accused of operating a campaign of starvation in Gaza with its aid blockade literally starving Gazans to death, according to Avril Benoît, chief executive of Doctors Without Borders (DWB).
60,000 are dead in Gaza, with 144,500 Palestinians injured since October 2023. According to DWB, Gazans risk being shot as they look for food.
It’s against this humanitarian crisis that France will become the first G7 country to recognise Palestine as a state.
Last week, President Emmanuel Macron advised the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas that he would announce formal recognition at the United Nation’s (UN) General Assembly in September.
Such recognition may be largely symbolic but it adds diplomatic pressure for UN membership and statehood. Palestine has been seeking full UN membership since 2011 but has been blocked by the United States (US).
Last April, a resolution for UN membership for Palestine was vetoed by the US. The 15-member Security Council had 12 votes in favour, two abstentions and one vote against.
A state has certain defining features under international law, including a permanent population, a determinate territory, "effective" government and the capacity to enter into relations with other states.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz described the move by France as "a disgrace and a surrender to terrorism". He said Israel would not permit the establishment of a "Palestinian entity that would harm our security, endanger our existence".
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US "strongly rejects" Macron's plan because it was a "reckless decision" that "only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace."
At the same time as Macron’s announcement, ceasefire talks were halted as the US and Israel withdrew their negotiating teams from Qatar.
In contrast, France and Saudi Arabia are hosting an international conference at the UN in New York - today and tomorrow - seeking peaceful solutions and renewed efforts for a “two-state solution”. The US has opted out of attendance.
A two-state solution would see an independent Palestinian state established alongside the state of Israel, giving both peoples their own territory.
Palestinians want an independent state in the occupied West Bank, annexed east Jerusalem and Gaza, land that have been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes Palestinian statehood and says it would reward militants after the 7 October attacks by Hamas in 2023.
President Macron said, "France will seek to make a decisive contribution to peace in the Middle East and will mobilise all of its international partners who wish to take part".
While the US continues to insist it supports a two-state solution and peace in the Middle East, in reality, it appears to be a key driver of stalemate in the region.
The need for food, water and medicine in Gaza is now beyond an emergency.
Jordan and the UAE have a proposal, supported by the UK, to drop aid into Gaza, but aid agencies say this will do little to mitigate the hunger of Gazans as the crisis is now beyond critical.
Pressure is on Prime Minister Starmer to follow President Macron and for the UK to recognise Palestine as a state. Around 221 MPs have signed a motion urging him to do so. Let’s hope he does so this week.
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