Macron, sitting next to Trump, says recognizing Palestine does not ignore Hamas attack

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By Gram Slattery and Kanishka Singh

UNITED NATIONS/ WASHINGTON (Reuters) -French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday recognizing the state of Palestine does not amount to forgetting the October 2023 Hamas attack, with the French leader making his comments as he sat next to President Donald Trump in a bilateral meeting.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

Trump has condemned moves by Western powers and U.S. allies, including France, to recognize a Palestinian state, saying such steps would reward “horrible atrocities” by Hamas militants.

KEY QUOTES

“I think it honors Hamas and you can’t do that because of October 7. You just can’t do that,” Trump told reporters when asked about the recognition of the state of Palestine.

“Nobody forgets the 7th of October,” Macron told reporters while sitting next to Trump.

“But after almost two years of war, what is the result,” Macron said, adding: “This is not the right the right way to proceed.”

Macron advocated for a political process as Trump affirmed his support for Israel.

CONTEXT

Images of starving Palestinians, including children, have sparked global outrage against Israel’s almost two-year long assault on Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of people, internally displaced Gaza’s entire population, and set off a starvation crisis. Multiple rights experts, scholars and a U.N. inquiry say it amounts to genocide. Israel denies that and calls its actions self-defense after the October 7, 2023, attack led by Palestinian Hamas militants that killed 1,200 people and in which more than 250 were taken hostage.

(Reporting by Gram Slattery and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Alistair Bell)