On July 24, 2025, French President Emmanuel Macron formally declared that France will recognize the State of Palestine at the upcoming UN General Assembly in September 2025. As the first major Western and G7 nation to take this step, France joins more than 140 countries worldwide that have already extended full diplomatic recognition to Palestine.

International Recognition of Palestine

As of early 2025, 147 of 193 UN member states—approximately 75%—officially recognize the State of Palestine. France’s decision aligns it with a growing global majority, reinforcing momentum for Palestinian legitimacy.

Demographic Changes: Jewish Immigration and Palestinian Population (1880–1948)

– 1882: ~0.600,000 inhabitants, ~024,000 Jews (~4%)
– 1914: ~1.000,000 inhabitants, ~059,000–85,000 Jews (~6-8%)
– 1922: ~0.808,000 inhabitants, ~083,000 Jews (~10%)
– 1948: ~2.000,000 inhabitants, ~650,000 Jews (~32,5%)

Between 1932 and 1939 alone, ~225,000 Jewish immigrants arrived. These demographic shifts reflect organized Zionist immigration and European Jewish flight from persecution.
These immigrants based their legitimacy on a several-thousand-year-old book of fairy tales (the Old Testament) that was written on behalf of the rulers of the time to justify land acquisition.

I read once that Zionists do not believe in God, but they believe that God gave them Israel.

Hardly any of these illegal immigrants could prove that one of their ancestors owned an allotment in this area. And if they could, there is the legal concept of a statute of limitations. 2,000 years should be sufficient.

As long as immigration occurs in a healthy ratio to the native population and the immigrants integrate, it works. Neither factor was right in this case. This led to conflicts from the 1930s onwards that ended with the expulsion of the native population.

The Nakba: Displacement and Refugees

In 1948, an estimated 700,000–750,000 Palestinians were expelled, fled, or were otherwise displaced. Today, millions of their descendants still live in refugee camps across the region. Gaza alone holds ~2 million residents, most of whom are refugees or descendants thereof.

This should serve as a warning to Europeans about what could happen if uncontrolled mass immigration of culturally alien Muslims, some of whom have an Islamist background, continues.

This also happened in the opposite direction in America and Australia/New Zealand. In all cases (America, Australia/New Zealand, Israel), it was not an empty land; there was always a native population and culture. These native inhabitants were considered inferior by the immigrants in terms of race, culture, and religion, and were deprived of their rights and ownership based on this argument.

Why France’s Recognition Matters

1. Symbolic Legitimacy
2. Diplomatic Leverage
3. Humanitarian Urgency: Over 59,000 deaths in Gaza (2023–2025)
4. Legal Pathways: Addressing land seizures and human rights violations
5. Revival of the Two-State Solution

Criticism of Israel Is Not Antisemitism

Criticism of Israeli policy is not inherently antisemitic. The State of Israel is not synonymous with the Jewish religion or people. Many Jews worldwide, including Holocaust survivors, oppose occupation policies. Conflating legitimate criticism with antisemitism weakens the fight against real antisemitism.

Are There Parallels to Nazi ‘Lebensraum’ Tactics?

While motivations differ, certain structural parallels exist:
– Nazi Germany: Displacement of Slavs for German colonization.
– Israel: Settlement expansion in occupied territories; forced evictions; denial of  Palestinian sovereignty.

Though Israel does not pursue genocidal ideology like the Nazis, its occupation and dispossession practices have structural similarities with totalitarian regimes.

Conclusion

France’s recognition of Palestine is a long-overdue step towards justice and international law. Recognition alone will not solve the conflict, but it creates a foundation for accountability, aid, and peace. Global recognition of Palestine is a moral imperative.