According to the official Israeli Broadcasting Authority, Washington sent direct messages to Paris and London containing clear threats should they decide to recognize the State of Palestine during the conference convened by Saudi Arabia and France to revive the two-state solution.
The US move follows French and British statements hinting at the possibility of taking such a step. French President Emmanuel Macron stated during his visit to Singapore that recognizing the state of Palestine is a "moral duty and a political necessity," stressing the need for conditions, including Palestinian recognition of Israel, the disarmament of Hamas, its exclusion from the Palestinian government, and the release of prisoners.
Earlier, Macron announced the organization of a conference on Gaza, in cooperation with Saudi Arabia, from June 17 to 20, with the aim of giving renewed impetus to the recognition of a Palestinian state. Meanwhile, a report by the British newspaper The Guardian revealed attempts within the British Labour Party to push party leader Keir Starmer to support the French initiative.
The international arena is witnessing accelerated movements in support of recognizing Palestine. On May 22, Norway, Ireland, and Spain announced their official recognition of the State of Palestine, effective May 28.
In a joint statement, Ireland, Norway, Slovenia, and Spain called for granting Palestine full membership in the United Nations and for its recognition on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
To date, nine EU member states have recognized the State of Palestine, including Sweden, Poland, Romania, and Hungary, while Palestine has had non-member observer state status at the United Nations since November 2012.
These actions come amid the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, which, since October 7, 2023, has resulted in the deaths and injuries of more than 179,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in addition to more than 11,000 missing and hundreds of thousands displaced.
The occupation army and settlers have also escalated their attacks in the West Bank, resulting in the deaths of at least 973 Palestinians, the injury of nearly 7,000, and the arrest of more than 17,000 people, according to Palestinian sources.
