Gaza City, Sept. 22 -- France's declaration recognizing a Palestinian state landed in New York as Israeli strikes pounded Gaza war again, tightening the vise on a displaced and starving population while reshaping the Western diplomatic map around the conflict. The move by Paris, paired with parallel steps by key allies, has jolted a discourse that for years treated Palestinian statehood as a perpetually deferred promise rather than a right with urgent consequences on the ground.

France's recognition was framed as a salvage operation for a two-state horizon and a bid to restore minimal guardrails for civilian protection. In the same breath, European and Commonwealth partners accelerated their own decisions. The United Kingdom said it woul...