France says it will vote in favor of recognizing Palestinian state at U.N.

French Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius (right) welcomes Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas before a meeting and the signing of a convention for financial aid to Palestinians, on June 7, 2012 at the Quai d'Orsay Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris. / PIERRE VERDY/AFP/GettyImages

PARIS France announced Tuesday that it plans to vote in favor of recognizing a Palestinian state at the U.N. General Assembly this week.

With the announcement, France becomes the first major European country to come out in favor, dealing a setback to Israel. The timing of the announcement appears aimed at swaying other European nations.

Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told parliament that France has long supported Palestinian ambitions for statehood and "will respond 'Yes'" when the issue comes up for a vote "out of a concern for coherency."

The Palestinians say the assembly is likely to vote Thursday on a resolution raising their status at the U.N. from an observer to a nonmember observer state, a move they believe is an important step toward a two-state solution with Israel. A Palestinian state would still not be a full General Assembly member, however.

Unlike the Security Council, there are no vetoes in the General Assembly and the resolution is virtually certain of approval. But such a vote by France - a permanent council member - could weigh on decisions in other European capitals.

Europe is divided over the issue. Switzerland and Portugal have said they will vote for the measure, but Germany is among the countries that have opposed the bid. Britain's position remains unclear.

Palestinians say they are doing this out of frustration over the four-year deadlock in peace efforts. They believe an endorsement of their state will bolster their negotiating position.

Israel strongly opposes the bid, accusing the Palestinians of trying to bypass negotiations. The resolution would endorse a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, the territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel opposes a pullback to the 1967 lines.

• Israel, militants begin indirect talks on truce details

As French lawmakers applauded Tuesday- many of them members or allies of the Socialist-led government - Fabius cautioned against raising Palestinian hopes too high.

"But, but, but, but, but - but at the same time, madame and monsieur lawmakers, we must show in this case a lot of lucidity," he said.

"On the one hand, because the text is currently being discussed, and I myself had (Palestinian) President Mahmoud Abbas on the phone yesterday morning," he said. "On the other hand, because - let's not hide from this - that this question will be asked at a very delicate moment."

He went on to note the "fragile cease-fire" after the recent deadly fighting between Hamas and Israel, the Israeli election in January, and the upcoming "change in composition of the American administration" - with the United States seen by many as perhaps the most pivotal player in the region.

"In any case, it's only through negotiations - that we ask for without conditions and immediately between the two sides - that we will be able to reach the realization of a Palestinian state," Fabius said.

[Pred3]

Make Gaza a part of Egypt, with Egypt being responsibly
for the actions of their Muslim Brothers. That would take care
of any two State realization issues.

[Meezermom1951]

Will make a lot of sense won't it?? Recognize a so called Palestinian country in Gaza and the West Bank....please, look at a map! That is a physically divided country and divided by their most hated enemy. So how long will that last?? And just why should Israel trust the Palestinian people to peacefully walk their Israel to get to the other half of their country? They won't nor should they. Therefore, the Hamas will steal, I mean liberate the land dividing their country and take it which means Israel will be the divided nation so there will be more fighting over a piece of land. The arabs can all live together except not one single arab/muslim nation wants the so called Palestinian people as they see them for what they are, Jordanian thrown outs and criminals. The arabs that were nomads in the Israel area have been granted citizenship in Israel and any and all rights as full citizens up to and including the ability to hold public office and the right of recognition. Certainly much more than any arab/muslim nation has given to any Jews within their borders. The arabs have millions and millions of acres of land and still will not welcome their brothers. Tells you something about these people!

[cubscout09]

Some of us are old enough to remember the Six-Day-War (Blitzkrieg) when Israel seized the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights and the entire Sinai Peninsula, right up to the Suez Canal. The reasoning was that Israel needed buffer states to protect itself from attack.

(Israel also seized the Sinai Peninsula in 1954, the British and French responded by bombing Cairo! Trust is such a fragile commodity)

With Israel and Egypt honoring their treaties and cooperating to interdict the flow of arms into Gaza and maintain the security of the Suez Canal, (albeit, Iran warships have transited the Suez Canal twice in the last 21 months) the justification of Gaza as a buffer state seems outdated. With a Palestinian demographic of over 98%, it is logical that Gaza should be the next territory to be repatriated. Israel can continue their blockade and embargo of Gaza, if that floats their boat. After 45 years, it is obvious that "occupying" Gaza is not working. Let's try giving them autonomous, self rule.

[cubscout09]

The point is, the occupation of Gaza as a buffer state is outdated.

Both sides were to blame for the Six-Day-War.

Both sides carried out, or allowed to be carried out from their territory, harassing terror attacks. Israel threatened to invade Syria; Russia gave faulty intelligence to Nassar that Israel intended to follow through on their threat of invasion; Nassar militarized the Sinai/Israel border and called for the preemptive destruction of Israel; Israel executed a simultaneous suprise attack on four fronts, to include the amphibious landing on the southern tip of the Sinai; the principle actors duked it out again in '73, tempered by rumors of Israeli nukes; the Sinai was repatriated by the Camp David Accords and a new era of cooperation between Egypt and Israel began as Egypt moved out of the Soviet sphere of influence; stupid, small minded men assassinated Anwar Sadat. This is history.

[ManOfSteel-Velvet]

Three out of five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - Russia, China, and France - have thrown their support behind Palestinian bid for a nonmember observer status and thus greater international recognition.

Now is the time for U.S. and Britain to stop being Israel's biaches and to strengthen the position of the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas against increasingly more powerful Hamas by supporting Mahmoud Abbas' bid for Palestinian aspiration of freedom and statehood.

[dodinyc]

Exactly - If the US and Britain supported this measure it would give the palestinian Authority the legitimacy it needs to keep hamas at bay.

[cubscout09]

It would have less inflammatory if instead of using a nearly 6-month-old stock photograph of French Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, CBS had used one the the nice photos of Fabius meeting with Netanyahu and/or Peres in an attempt to broker a cease fire, which is actually what really happened.

Irony is, when you condemn France, you are siding with Iran.

[cubscout09]

And the French Horn isn't French at all, however, the English Horn is. Weird, huh? My uncle-in-law is a retired F-111 pilot, but, I don't feel comfortable asking him about that.

Which bring to mind the question, if our NATO allies wouldn't cooperate with us in staging the raid against Libya in '86, why is it that some people believe that Italy or France would allow us to unilaterally invade Libya from their bases on 9/11/12?

[readg821]

Wouldn't it make life easier if ALL commentators stuck to the truth rather than use the forum to vent? For ex. insinuating comments about President Obama's so called "muslim brothers"? How is a Baptist & Christian someone else?