PARIS (AP) — France's bold decision to recognize the state of Palestine could help to shift conversations about the future of the Middle East, even if it's unlikely to have an immediate impact for people in Gaza or on Israel's war with Hamas.
In a world where nations are again using military force to impose their will on others — notably Russia in Ukraine, and the U.S. and Israel with their recent strikes on Iran and its nuclear facilities — French President Emmanuel Macron is attempting to strike a blow for diplomacy and the idea that war rarely brings peace.
With less than two years left of his second and last term as president, Macron also has his legacy to think about. Not acting decisively as a humanitarian disaster unfolds in Gaza could be a stain when history books are written.
Macron has levers to influence world affairs as leader of a nuclear-armed, economically and diplomatically powerful country that also sits at the big table at the United Nations, as one of the five permanent members of its security council.
Being the first member of the G7 group of industrialized nations to take this leap carries domestic risks. Presiding over a country with both Europe’s largest Jewish population and largest Muslim population, Macron is on a public opinion tightrope. His words will please some voters but infuriate others — a fact reflected by deeply divided political reactions in France to his decision announced on X on Thursday evening.
But after staunchly backing Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas and its Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war, Macron is signaling that France’s support can only go so far.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the shift by one of his country’s closer allies in Europe. “Such a move rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became,” he said in a statement. “A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel — not to live in peace beside it.’’
The idea that Palestinians and Israelis could live side by side in peace in their own states has perhaps never looked more unrealistic — with Gaza in ruins and the occupied West Bank facing increasing settlement by Israelis. Macron’s words alone won't change that. Still, the French leader's message is that the hope of a “two-state solution” achieved through diplomacy must not be allowed to die — however unattainable it may seem.
“This solution is the only path that can address the legitimate aspirations of both the Israelis and the Palestinians. It must now be brought about as quickly as possible,” Macron said in a letter to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas which confirmed his decision to recognize Palestine as a state.
“The prospect of a negotiated solution to the conflict in the Middle East seems increasingly distant. I cannot resign myself to that,” he said.
The first impacts are likeliest not in Gaza but in world capitals where leaders may face pressure or feel emboldened to follow France's lead. Attention is focusing on other G7 nations, because of their economic and diplomatic sway.
“Macron's declaration could create a precedent because it would be the first Western country in the G7 to do so, which could have the effect of leading others,” said David Rigoulet-Roze, a researcher at the French Institute of Strategic Analysis.
Although more than 140 countries recognize Palestine as a state, France will be the biggest, most populous and most powerful among those in Europe that have taken this step.
“It creates some small momentum,” said Yossi Mekelberg, a senior consulting fellow at the Chatham House think tank in London who also added, however, that “this is not enough.”
"France should be congratulated, and Macron should be congratulated for doing that and showing the courage,” he said.
Until now, China and Russia were the only permanent members of the U.N. Security Council that recognized Palestinian statehood. France will join them when Macron makes good on his promise in September at the U.N. General Assembly. The new trio will leave the U.S. and the U.K. in a security council minority as its only permanent members that don't recognize Palestine as a state.
The so-called P5 nations are divided on many other issues — including Ukraine, trade and climate change — so France's shift isn't, in itself, likely to spur radical and rapid change for Palestinians. Still, if only mathematically, the U.S. — Israel's most important ally — and the U.K could find themselves more isolated among the big powers in any discussions on solutions for the Middle East.
U.S. President Donald Trump dismissed Macron’s decision on Friday, saying “What he says doesn't matter. It’s not going to change anything.”
France may have better traction with the U.K. Putting Brexit behind them, the U.K. and France are now drawing closer, most notably in support for Ukraine. If British Prime Minister Keir Starmer follows Macron's example, Trump could become the odd man out on Palestinian statehood among the security council's big five powers.
Starmer has signaled growing disquiet over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying in a statement Thursday that suffering and starvation there “is unspeakable and indefensible.” But he doesn't seem ready to take a leap like Macron, suggesting that fighting must stop first.
“Statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people,” Starmer said. “A ceasefire will put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution.”
—-
AP writers Jill Lawless in London, and Michelle Price in Washington, contributed.
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to the army leaders at the Hotel le Brienne, Sunday, July 13, 2025, ahead of the Bastille Day parade in Paris. (Ludovic Marin, Pool Photo via AP)
MONROE, Wash. (AP) — A blast of arctic air swept south from Canada and spread into parts of the northern U.S. on Saturday, while residents of the Pacific Northwest braced for possible mudslides and levee failures from floodwaters that are expected to be slow to recede.
The catastrophic flooding forced thousands of people to evacuate, including Eddie Wicks and his wife, who live amid sunflowers and Christmas trees on a Washington state farm next to the Snoqualmie River. As they moved their two donkeys to higher ground and their eight goats to their outdoor kitchen, the water began to rise much quicker than anything they had experienced before.
As the water engulfed their home Thursday afternoon, deputies from the King County Sheriff’s Office marine rescue dive unit were able to rescue them and their dog, taking them on a boat the half-mile (800 meters) across their field, which had been transformed into a lake. The rescue was captured on video.
Another round of rain and wind is in store for the region as early as late Sunday, forecasters said.
“Bottom line at this point in time is we’re not done despite the sunny conditions that we have across western Washington at this point,” said Reid Wolcott, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle.
“There is yet more still to come in terms of in terms of wind, in terms of rain, in terms in terms of flooding,” he said. “And Washingtonians need to be prepared for additional impacts, additional flooding, tree damage, power outages, etc.”
High winds expected at the end of the weekend and into the first part of week are a concern because the ground is extremely saturated, putting trees at risk of toppling, he said.
In Burlington, a farming community about an hour north of Seattle, the receding floodwaters allowed residents to assess damage and clean up their homes.
Friends and relatives helped empty Argentina Dominguez's home, filling trailers with soaked furniture, ripping carpet and mopping muddy floors.
“I know it’s materialistic stuff, but they were our stuff. It’s really hard. But we’re gonna try our best to like get through it all,” Dominguez said. “We’re just trying to get everything off the floor so we can start over.”
In Snohomish County, Washington, north of Seattle, emergency officials on Saturday led federal, state and local officials on a tour of the devastation.
“It’s obvious that thousands and thousands of Washingtonians and communities all across our state are in the process of digging out, and that’s going to be a challenging process,” Gov. Bob Ferguson said.
“It’s going to be expensive,” he said. “It’s going to be time consuming, and it’s going to be potentially dangerous at times. So I think we’re seeing here in Monroe is what we’re going to be seeing all across the state, and that’s what’s got our focus right now.”
As the Pacific Northwest begins to recover from the deluge, a separate weather system already brought dangerous wind-chill values — the combination of cold air temperatures and wind — to parts of the Upper Midwest.
Shortly before noon Saturday, it was minus 12 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 24 degrees Celsius) in Grand Forks, North Dakota, where the wind-chill value meant that it felt like minus 33 F (minus 36 C), the National Weather Service said.
For big cities like Minneapolis and Chicago, the coldest temperatures were expected late Saturday night into Sunday morning. In the Minneapolis area, low temperatures were expected to drop to around minus 15 F (minus 26 C), by early Sunday morning. Lows in the Chicago area are projected to be around 1 F(minus 17 C) by early Sunday, the weather service said.
The Arctic air mass was expected to continue pushing south and east over the weekend, expanding into Southern states by Sunday.
The National Weather Service on Saturday issued cold weather advisories that stretched as far south as the Alabama state capital city of Montgomery, where temperatures late Sunday night into Monday morning were expected to plummet to around 22 F (minus 6 C). To the east, lows in Savannah, Georgia, were expected to drop to around 24 F (minus 4 C) during the same time period.
The cold weather freezing much of the country came as residents in the Pacific Northwest endure more misery after several days of flooding. Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate towns in the region as an unusually strong atmospheric river dumped a foot (30 centimeters) or more of rain in parts of western and central Washington over several days and swelled rivers, inundating communities and prompting dramatic rescues from rooftops and vehicles.
Many animals were also evacuated as waters raged over horse pastures, barns and farmland. At the peak of evacuations, roughly 170 horses, 140 chickens and 90 goats saved from the floodwaters were being cared for at a county park north of Seattle, said Kara Underwood, division manager of Snohomish County Parks. Most of those animals were still at the park on Saturday, she said.
The record floodwaters slowly receded, but authorities warned that waters will remain high for days, and that there was still danger from potential levee failures or mudslides. There was also the threat of more rain forecast for Sunday. Officials conducted dozens of water rescues as debris and mudslides closed highways and raging torrents washed out roads and bridges.
Associated Press journalists Manuel Valdes in Burlington, Hallie Golden in Seattle and Jeff Martin in Atlanta contributed.
Floodwaters surround a home after heavy rains led to historic flooding in the region Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Burlington, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Floodwaters cover a road after heavy rains led to historic flooding in the region Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Burlington, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Haji Higa, right, and Lydia Heglin, left, walk through floodwaters at their front door after heavy rains led to historic flooding in the region Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Burlington, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Francis Tarango mops inside her daughters' home damaged by floodwaters in Burlington, Wash., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes)
"E-man" Trujillo uses a jet-ski to pull his children in a canoe as the family's horses graze on high ground in near their front door after heavy rains led to historic flooding in the region Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Burlington, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
"E-man" Trujillo, center, uses a jet-ski to tow a canoe with his children Liam, 6, far left, Julissa, 15, and Benjamin, 5, third from left, as their horses take refuge on the high ground at their front door after heavy rains led to historic flooding in the region Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Burlington, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Floodwater surrounds a home in Burlington, Wash., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes)
Men remove a wet carpet from a house damaged by floodwaters in Burlington, Washington, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes)
Vehicles are partially submerged after heavy rains led to historic flooding in the region, in Burlington, Wash., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes)
Fracis Tarango mops inside her daughters' home damaged by floodwaters in Burlington, Wash., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes)
A man pushes a truck through a neigbhorhood flooded by the Skagit River on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Burlington. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
An aerial view shows homes surrounded by floodwaters in Snohomish, Wash., Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
Emergency crews, including National Guard soldiers, wort in a neighborhood flooded by the Skagit River on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Burlington, Wash. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
