EDITORIAL: There is no peace in the Middle East without the two-state solution. And there is no two-state solution without international political will. That is why France’s signal that it intends to recognise a Palestinian state by the summer of 2025 is a significant development.
It may not be the first such recognition by a European country, but given France’s position in the EU and the wider Western alliance, its decision carries weight and could, finally, tilt the international consensus back toward the only viable endgame in the region: a Palestinian state alongside Israel, living in peace and security.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been allowed to fester for more than seven decades because the world has tiptoed around the political sensitivities of one party at the cost of the rights of the other.
Recognition of Palestinian statehood is not a mere gesture, it is a recognition of a people who have, for generations, lived under military occupation, been denied sovereignty, and been abandoned time and again by international frameworks that promised justice and delivered stalemate.
That France has explicitly tied recognition of Palestine with the two-state solution is an important message. It comes at a time when the Israeli government under Prime Minister Netanyahu is pushing a narrative that openly rejects the two-state paradigm.
His far-right coalition members have called for the re-occupation of Gaza and the expansion of settlements in the West Bank, both of which would render any viable Palestinian state impossible. Against this backdrop, French recognition becomes more than symbolic—it is an assertion that international law and political solutions still matter.
President Macron’s announcement also puts pressure on the rest of Europe, particularly Germany and the UK, to clarify their positions. For too long, the west has paid lip service to the two-state solution while doing little to resist Israel’s settlement policy or human rights violations.
Recognition of Palestine, within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, would not solve the conflict overnight. But it would restore some balance to a peace process that has been entirely skewed in Israel’s favour.
France also hopes this gesture will encourage Arab states that have yet to recognize Israel to reciprocate. That could be optimistic, but a broader normalisation of relations between Israel and the Arab world, especially under a framework that acknowledges Palestinian statehood, could serve regional stability more than current transactional peace deals.
Some critics argue that unilateral recognition bypasses negotiation. But negotiations require two parties willing to engage. Israel has systematically undermined the two-state solution, while the international community has offered little pushback. France’s move should be seen not as a bypass, but as a corrective. It recognises that delay and ambiguity have only made the situation worse.
In the end, Palestinian statehood is not a favour – it is a right. And any lasting peace will have to be built on mutual recognition. France’s step is late, but it is in the right direction. Others should follow. The time for hedging is over. If the two-state solution dies, so does the dream of peace.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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