The American daily "Washington Post" draws attention to last night's statement by President Emmanuel Macron that France will recognize Palestine as an independent state at the UN General Assembly in September, BTA writes.
France will become the largest Western power and the first member of the G-7 to recognize Palestinian statehood, the publication points out. Russia, China, India and more than 140 other countries have already done so, but the US, Britain and Japan have not, the newspaper specifies. "Washington Post".
The French president's decision comes at a time when criticism is growing around the world against Israel's 21-month-long military campaign in the Gaza Strip, where tens of thousands of people have been killed so far and the population is starving, the newspaper commented.
Macron offered support for Israel after the massacre carried out by "Hamas" on October 7, 2023 and has often spoken out against growing anti-Semitism in France, but in recent months he has become increasingly disillusioned with the war in the Gaza Strip, writes the British newspaper "Telegraph".
The publication notes that in early June, information appeared that Macron was trying to convince Britain to recognize Palestinian statehood together with France at a conference at the UN that same month. However, the meeting was postponed after the outbreak of hostilities between Iran and Israel.
The French president's statement came hours after the collapse of peace talks between Israel and "Hamas" in Qatar, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu withdrew his team, the "Telegraph" newspaper reported.
A few weeks ago, US President Donald Trump announced that in his opinion a ceasefire was a matter of days, the "New York Times" newspaper reported.
The newspaper quoted officials from several countries as saying that Israel's withdrawal from the talks may have been a tactical move.
The decision to withdraw the negotiating team comes at a time when Netanyahu is under increasing pressure from his far-right coalition partners to end the talks and intensify military action. The influence of his coalition partners has increased in recent days after two of the parties in the ruling coalition severed ties with the government over a bill that would require ultra-Orthodox Jewish men to serve in the army, the newspaper said.
Meanwhile, as hopes for a quick ceasefire faded, the head of the main UN agency serving the Palestinians said his frontline staff were beginning to faint from hunger and the number of people dying of starvation in the Gaza Strip continued to rise, the newspaper reported. "Guardian".
The UN and aid agencies are blaming Israel, which has imposed a near-total blockade on humanitarian aid, for the food shortages in the Palestinian enclave, the publication says.
Israel claims that the world media is exaggerating the scale of the crisis, even though aid agency reports and photographs from the Gaza Strip show clear evidence of famine, and doctors treating malnourished children say they cannot provide themselves with enough food, the newspaper comments. "Guardian".
Thousands of demonstrators in Israel, carrying sacks of flour and pictures of starving children, protested in Tel Aviv this week, calling for an end to the blockade of the Gaza Strip, but a deal to end the conflict is unpopular among more hardline members of Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet and Israel appears keen to retain the option of renewing the war after a possible ceasefire period, the British newspaper writes.