Washington, Jul 25: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed French President Emmanuel Macron’s move to officially recognise the state of Palestine, calling it a “reckless decision”.

“The United States strongly rejects Emmanuel Macron’s plan to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly. This reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace. It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7,” Rubio said on Friday in a post on X.

The remarks came after French President Macron announced France’s decision to recognise the Palestinian state.

“Consistent with its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognise the State of Palestine. I will make this solemn announcement before the United Nations General Assembly this coming September. The urgent priority today is to end the war in Gaza and to bring relief to the civilian population,” Macron stated in his social media post.

Condemning the decision, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move” rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy.”

“We strongly condemn President Macron’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state next to Tel Aviv in the wake of the October 7 massacre. Such a move rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became. A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel — not to live in peace beside it. Let’s be clear: the Palestinians do not seek a state alongside Israel; they seek a state instead of Israel,” said Netanyahu in a post on X.

In a strongly worded statement, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said, “The French President's pretension to create by mere words an illusionary arrangement in our land is ridiculous and not serious. His statement this evening shows that all the conditions that he himself set a few weeks ago - have evaporated.All that remains is the illusionary state he presumes to establish."

"A Palestinian state will be a Hamas state, just as the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip twenty years ago led to Hamas taking control of it,” Sa'ar emphasised.

Meanwhile Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz called the move “a disgrace and a surrender to terrorism”.

“Macron's announcement of his intention to recognise a Palestinian state is a disgrace and a surrender to terrorism, granting a reward and encouragement to the murderers and rapists of Hamas, who carried out the most horrific massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Instead of standing with Israel in this time of trial, the French president is acting to weaken it,”the Israeli Defence Minister stated

“We will not allow the establishment of a Palestinian entity that would harm our security, endanger our existence, and undermine our historical right to the Land of Israel. We are all united to prevent this grave danger,” he added.

(IANS)

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