US and Israel condemn French decision to recognise Palestinian statepublished at 06:56 British Summer Time
06:56 BST
Image source, Reuters
France will officially recognise a Palestinian state in September, President Emmanuel Macron announced last night.
Palestinian officials welcomed the decision, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says it “rewards terror”, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the move is “reckless”.
Macron says he and others have an obligation to show peace is possible, and that the “urgent priority today” is to end the war and bring relief to the people of Gaza.
But, also on Thursday, Israeli and US negotiators decided to leave Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar, with Washington accusing Hamas of not “acting in good faith”. Hamas says it was surprised by the claim, and an Israeli source insisted there was “no collapse” in negotiations.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian conditions in Gaza are continuing to deteriorate rapidly. The UN’s Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) warns that one in five children in Gaza City is malnourished – in the north of the territory – and that cases are increasing every day.
Israel and Hamas both blame each other for the situation, while aid agencies have been calling on Israel to allow more aid to reach people in the territory, warning of mass starvation.
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