Over dozen Western nations urge recognition of Palestine

France and 14 other Western nations called on countries worldwide to move to recognise a Palestinian state, France's top diplomat said on Wednesday.

"In New York, together with 14 other countries, France is issuing a collective appeal: we express our desire to recognise the State of Palestine and invite those who have not yet done so to join us," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot wrote on X account, following a conference aimed at reviving the two-state solution for Israelis and the Palestinians.

Meanwhile, Britain has rejected Israel and US criticism that it was rewarding Hamas by setting out plans to recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel took steps to improve the situation in Gaza and bring about peace.

“This is about the Palestinian people. It's about those children that we see in Gaza who are starving to death," British Transport Minister Heidi Alexander told LBC radio on Wednesday.

“We've got to ratchet up pressure on the Israeli government to lift the restrictions to get aid back into Gaza.”

The sight of emaciated Gaza children has shocked the world in recent days. A hunger monitor warned that a worst-case scenario of famine was unfolding there and immediate action was needed to avoid widespread death.

In a televised address on Tuesday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that moment had now come, highlighting the suffering in Gaza and saying the prospect of a two-state solution — a Palestinian state co-existing in peace alongside Israel — was under threat.