France to Recognize State of Palestine?

Local Editor

"Only if France fails to break deadlock between the "Israeli" entity and the Palestinians," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius announced that Paris will recognize the Palestinian state in the coming weeks.

"If this attempt to achieve a negotiated solution reaches a dead end, we will take responsibility and recognize the Palestinian state," Fabius explained Friday.

Relatively, Fabius further stated during a media-conference in Paris that as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, France has a duty to maintain efforts to find a so-called two-state solution.

He also expressed hope that the international "peace" summit will be attended by both parties, who haven't been talking since 2014, as well as other key international players, including the US, EU states and Arab nations.

However, Fabius added that: "Unfortunately, ["Israeli"] settlement construction continues."

For the Zionist part, an unnamed "Israeli" official had already told media that the French initiative will be rejected, as recognizing it would only encourage Palestinians to avoid "direct negotiations" with Tel-Aviv.

Less than a month ago, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki visited Paris to discuss the possibility of proposing a UN Security Council resolution declaring that the illegal "Israeli" settlements in the occupied West bank are an obstacle to a solution of the conflict.

In October of 2014, Sweden became the first EU nation to recognize the State of Palestine, followed shortly by the UK. The first Palestinian embassy opened in Stockholm in January 2015.

Last September, the Palestinian flag was hoisted at UN headquarters for the first time as a symbolic gesture in the territory's quest for statehood.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team