UNITED NATIONS — Israel’s ambassador to the U.N. on Monday condemned a surge of announcements from countries recognizing Palestinian statehood, calling their actions “shameful” and “detached from reality.”
Ambassador Danny Danon also vowed that Israel would retaliate against some of its biggest allies who support the formal recognition of Palestine at the U.N. General Assembly Monday afternoon. Among the nations leading the charge: France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal.
“We will take action,” Mr. Danon told reporters at the General Assembly, saying there would “be consequences” for recognizing Palestinian statehood.
However, Mr. Danon deferred to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when asked about what actions the Jewish state would take. “That’s for the government to decide,” he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement in the U.N. General Assembly hall received loud applause from the more than 140 leaders in attendance. The Palestinian delegation, including its U.N. ambassador, Riyad Mansour, could be seen standing and applauding as the declaration was made. Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, was seen applauding on a live-camera view after the U.S. government banned him from attending the U.N. gathering in person.
“True to the historic commitment of my country to the Middle East, to peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians, this is why I declare that today, France recognizes the state of Palestine,” Mr. Macron said.
The Trump administration also threatened consequences for recognizing Palestinian statehood, but has not telegraphed what they plan to do.
In recent weeks as support for a two-state solution has swelled, Israel has floated the ideas ranging from expelling the French diplomats from the consulate in west Jerusalem to annexing the West Bank.
Israel has long rallied against a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but has become especially resistant to the idea since the Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack against southern Israel, killing roughly 1,200 civilians and taking more than 200 hostage.
Mr. Netanyahu and several of his top officials have doubled down since the wave of support for recognizing the Palestinian state has emerged. Some, like Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have urged the Israeli prime minister to ignore the diplomatic brush and formally absorb the West Bank to crush the idea of a sovereign Palestinian state.
“The days are over when Britain and other countries determine our future … the only response to an anti-Israeli move is sovereignty over the homeland territories of the Jewish people in Judea and Samaria, and removing the folly of the Palestinian state idea from the agenda forever,” Mr. Smotrich said Sunday in a statement, referring to the West Bank by its biblical names.
At the U.N. General Assembly on Monday, France and Saudi Arabia convened a summit amid a rising tide of allies pushing for Palestinian statehood as a way to push back on Israel’s military actions in the Gaza strip. The summit is expected to start a process in which other nations follow suit at the General Assembly.
The United States and Israel are boycotting the summit.
However, some Western allies say recognizing Palestine is in Israel’s best interest. British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC on Monday that it is the “best way to respect the security for Israel as well as the security for Palestinians.”
Saudi Arabia has also sought to increase pressure on Israel, saying any push to annex the West Bank would end talks to normalize relations between the two nations. The United Arab Emirates, an Arab ally of Israel, followed suit by saying that annexation could jeopardize the Abraham Accords, an agreement the two countries signed during President Trump’s first term.
This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.