Rubio accuses Macron of derailing Israel-Hamas negotiations
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (Photo: Getty Images)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused French President Emmanuel Macron of derailing ceasefire talks between Israel and the Hamas group, according to the politician’s interview with the Eternal Word Television Network.
The head of American diplomacy noted that negotiations with Hamas collapsed on the day Macron made a unilateral decision to recognize the State of Palestine.
"If I'm Hamas, I basically conclude: 'Let’s not do a ceasefire… because we can be rewarded, we can claim it as a victory,"' the Secretary of State said.
Rubio added that after Macron’s statement, other countries joined in, declaring that if a ceasefire is not reached by September, they will recognize the State of Palestine.
Recognition of the State of Palestine
On July 24, Emmanuel Macron announced France’s intention to recognize the State of Palestine at the UN General Assembly session in September. The country’s Foreign Ministry described this as an attempt to support peace in the Gaza Strip.
In response, Israel strongly criticized Paris’s plans.
The US also firmly rejected Macron’s proposal.
The UK likewise stated it would recognize the State of Palestine in September if Israel had not stopped the war in the Gaza Strip by then. Canada, Australia, Ireland, and Spain expressed similar intentions.
Meanwhile, Israel is preparing a military operation to fully capture the Gaza Strip and the city of Gaza.
