French presidency announced Friday that ten countries – including France, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada – will officially recognize the State of Palestine during a special conference in New York on Monday, held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings.

French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to deliver a landmark speech at the event, formally declaring France’s recognition of Palestinian statehood and calling on the international community to defend the two-state solution.

The recognition of Palestine is being led by France and joined by nine other nations, forming a powerful coalition for justice and peace. The countries taking this historic step include the United Kingdom (UK), Australia, Canada, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal, Malta, Andorra, and San Marino. Together, they aim to send a clear message to the international community that Palestinian statehood is a legitimate right and that the two-state solution must be preserved in the face of ongoing Israeli occupation and settlement expansion.

Diplomats say this move represents a powerful message to the Israeli occupation regime, coming at a time when Tel Aviv continues its genocidal war on Gaza and accelerates illegal settlement activity across the West Bank.

The French presidency stressed that Israeli annexation of the occupied West Bank would cross a “clear red line”, warning that such a move would constitute “the worst possible violation of international law” and a direct assault on UN Security Council resolutions.

“We, along with our partners, will demand immediate measures from Israel to ensure that the Palestinian Authority does not collapse,” the statement read. “The future borders of the Palestinian state are the 1967 borders.”

Paris emphasized that the recognition is a step toward peace, not retaliation, urging Israel to end its settlement expansion and respect international law.

Palestinian officials and pro-resistance voices welcomed the announcement, calling it a significant victory for Palestinian diplomacy and a blow to Israel’s attempts to normalize occupation.

“The recognition of Palestine by major powers like France and the UK is a moral and legal obligation long overdue,” said a spokesperson for the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “It sends a clear message: the world will not accept Israel’s apartheid system and annexation project.”

France underlined that its initiative is aimed at preserving the two-state solution before it is completely destroyed by Israel’s expansionism.

“The most important thing is to take all possible measures today to maintain the two-state solution,” the French presidency said. “Annexing the West Bank would be one of the steps that would most threaten this.”

The upcoming conference in New York is expected to gather broad international attention, with several EU states hinting that they may follow suit in recognizing Palestinian statehood in the coming months.

Analysts say this recognition, especially from powerful Western nations like France, the UK, and Canada, could pave the way for renewed international pressure on Israel and greater accountability for its war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank. (ILKHA)