Palestinian minister hails France plan to recognise Palestinian state

A Palestinian minister on Wednesday said French President Emmanuel Macron's announcement that Paris could recognise a Palestinian state by June would be "a step in the right direction".

France's recognition of Palestinian statehood "would be a step in the right direction in line with safeguarding the rights of the Palestinian people and the two state solution," Palestinian minister of state for foreign affairs Varsen Aghabekian Shahin told AFP.

Macron said on Wednesday France could recognise a Palestinian state in June, adding that in turn some countries in the Middle East could recognise the state of Israel.

"We need to move towards recognition (of a Palestinian state). And so over the next few months, we will. I'm not doing it to please anyone. I'll do it because at some point it will be right," he said during a interview on France 5 television.

"And because I also want to take part in a collective dynamic that should also enable those who defend Palestine to recognise Israel in their turn, something that many of them are not doing."

Even though Palestine has been recognized as a sovereign state by almost 150 countries, most major Western powers have not, including the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Japan.

Among countries that do not recognize Israel are Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

Agencies