Netanyahu warns France recognising Palestine is 'grave mistake'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Sunday that if the French parliament recognises the State of Palestine it would be a “grave mistake,” AFP reported.

The French parliament is set to vote on recognising the Palestinian state on 2 December.

Speaking to reporters in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said: “The State of Israel is the homeland of the Jewish people, the only state that we have, and the Palestinians demanding a state do not want to recognise the right to have a state for the Jewish people.”

According to AFP, a draft of the proposal “invites the French government to use the recognition of the State of Palestine as an instrument to gain a definitive resolution of the conflict”.

France’s decision to vote on this issue comes in wake of a similar non-binding resolution to “recognise the State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel as a contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution” approved by British lawmakers on 13 October.

On 30 October, Sweden’s government announced that it was officially recognising the Palestinian state. This move was strongly criticised by Israel and its key ally, the United States.