France, July 26 -- French President Emmanuel Macron has announced he will officially recognise Palestinian statehood before the UN General Assembly in September. While the move has been denounced by Israel and the US and welcomed by Palestinians and Arab countries, the reaction in France has been mixed.

In a letter sent to Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas Thursday, Macron confirmed France's intention to press ahead with recognition and work to convince other partners to do the same.

To date, about 144 of the 193 UN member states have recognised a Palestinian state, including most of the global south as well as Russia, China and India. Only a handful of the 27 EU countries do so, mostly former Communist countries as wel...