France to recognise Palestine as Gaza ceasefire talks hit wall

The leaders of Britain, France and Germany held an emergency call on Friday about the growing hunger crisis in Gaza, after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that his country would become the first major Western power to recognise a Palestinian state.

Besides, the US and Israel have pulled their teams back from Gaza truce talks in Qatar, with Trump saying Hamas didn’t wish for peace.

France’s surprise announcement exposes differences among the European allies, known as the E3, over how to ease the worsening humanitarian crisis and end the Israel-Hamas war.

All three support a Palestinian state in principle, but Germany said it has no immediate plans to follow France’s step, which Macron plans to formalise at the UN in September.

Britain has not followed suit either, though PM Keir Starmer came closer than ever before, saying “statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people”.

Starmer said he, Macron and Chancellor Friedrich Merz would talk about “what we can do urgently to stop the killing and get people the food they desperately need while pulling together all the steps necessary to build a lasting peace”.

Later in the day, the leaders of France, the UK and Germany said in a joint statement, “The humanitarian catastrophe that we are witnessing in Gaza must end now...We firmly oppose all efforts to impose Israeli sovereignty over the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”

Elsewhere, Qatar and Egypt said there had been some progress in the latest round of Gaza talks. Suspending the negotiations to hold consultations before resuming talks is normal in complex negotiations, they said. Hamas says talks may resume next week.