France’s Historic Palestine Recognition Ignites Global Debate as UN Report Exposes Profiteering in Occupied Territories

France’s Historic Palestine Recognition Ignites Global Debate as UN Report Exposes Profiteering in Occupied Territories

A new report from a United Nations expert, Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, warns that Israel’s actions against Palestinians, described as genocide, are being sustained by a system of exploitative occupation and profit.

RMN News Political Desk
July 25, 2025

France is set to make a significant diplomatic move by officially recognising a Palestinian state in September, making it the first G7 nation to do so. President Emmanuel Macron announced this decision today (July 25) on X, stating the formal declaration would occur at a session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

This decision, which Macron described as true to France’s historic commitment to a just and lasting peace, also calls for the demilitarisation of Hamas, the security and rebuilding of Gaza, and the construction of a viable State of Palestine that accepts demilitarisation and fully recognises Israel, contributing to Middle East security.

The announcement comes amidst an urgent need for the war in Gaza to end, the rescue of the civilian population, an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and massive humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.

International Reactions: Praise, Condemnation, and Pressure

The decision has elicited strong and varied international reactions:

• Palestinian officials welcomed Macron’s decision, with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ deputy, Hussein al-Sheikh, stating it “reflects France’s commitment to international law and its support for the Palestinian people’s rights to self-determination and the establishment of our independent state”.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly condemned the move, calling it a reward for terror following Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack in Israel. Netanyahu asserted that “A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel – not to live in peace beside it,” adding that “the Palestinians do not seek a state alongside Israel; they seek a state instead of Israel”.
• The US “strongly rejects” Macron’s announcement, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling the decision “reckless”.
• Hamas viewed France’s decision as a “positive step in the right direction” and urged other countries to follow suit.
• Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry praised the decision, highlighting that it “reaffirms the international community’s consensus on the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent state”.

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Currently, over 140 of the 193 UN member states recognise the State of Palestine, including some European Union countries like Spain and Ireland. However, Israel’s main supporter, the US, and allies like the UK have not recognised a Palestinian state. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer stated that statehood is an “inalienable right of the Palestinian people” and that a ceasefire would “put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution”. He faces growing pressure from his own MPs, with a majority on the foreign affairs committee calling for immediate recognition “while there is still a state to recognise,” emphasizing that “An inalienable right should not be made conditional”.

Gaza’s Dire Humanitarian Crisis

The context for these diplomatic moves is the ongoing conflict in Gaza, where the Israeli military launched a campaign in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, which killed about 1,200 people and resulted in 251 hostages taken. Since then, at least 59,106 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry, and much of Gaza has been reduced to rubble.

The humanitarian situation is dire, with the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) reporting that one in five children in Gaza City is now malnourished, and cases are increasing daily. More than 100 international aid organisations and human rights groups have warned of mass starvation in the Gaza Strip. Israel, which controls the entry of supplies, maintains there is no siege and blames Hamas for malnutrition cases.

Corporate Profiteering Sustaining Occupation

Compounding the crisis, a new report from a United Nations expert, Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, warns that Israel’s actions against Palestinians, described as genocide, are being sustained by a system of exploitative occupation and profit. The report highlights that genocide is proving profitable for some, noting a dramatic surge in the Tel Aviv stock exchange.

The report identifies forty-eight separate corporate actors, including their parent companies, subsidiaries, franchisees, licensees, and consortium partners, across various sectors. These include:

• Weapons manufacturers
• Technological corporations
• Financial institutions
• Construction firms
• Energy companies

Albanese found that these entities failed their basic legal responsibilities to exert influence to end violations or to terminate their relationships and disengage. Instead, they have treated Israel’s enterprise in the occupied Palestinian territory as ordinary economic activity, “wilfully ignoring documented, systemic abuses” even as atrocities intensified after October 7, 2023.

France’s diplomatic step toward recognising a Palestinian state marks a significant divergence from some Western allies and aligns with a growing international consensus on Palestinian self-determination, even as a UN report simultaneously uncovers the deep-seated economic incentives that fuel the ongoing occupation and its severe humanitarian consequences. It’s like watching a chess game where some players are making strategic moves for peace, while others are simultaneously profiting from the very conditions that make peace so elusive.