EXPLAINER-Why is France recognising Palestinian statehood and who else has?

PARIS, July 25 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron has announced he will recognise Palestinian statehood, drawing angry rebukes from Israel and the United States and opening the door for other major nations to perhaps follow suit.

Below are some details about Macron's announcement, driven by a rising global outcry over starvation and devastation in Gaza amid Israel's war against Hamas militants, as well as other nations' position on having Palestinian statehood recognised.

WHAT DID MACRON SAY?

Macron published a letter sent to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas confirming France's intention to press ahead with recognition and work to convince other partners to do the same. He said he would make a formal announcement at the United Nations General Assembly next month.

France is now the first major Western country to shift its diplomatic stance on a Palestinian state, after Spain, Ireland and Norway officially recognised one last year.

WHY IS THIS SIGNIFICANT?

The decision to recognise Palestinian statehood is mostly symbolic, with Israel occupying the territories where the Palestinians have long aimed to establish that state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital.

But the move by France, which is home to Europe's largest Jewish and Muslim communities, could fuel a movement so far dominated by smaller nations generally more critical of Israel.

It also makes Israel appear more isolated on the international stage over the war in Gaza, which is suffering from a wave of hunger that the World Health Organization's chief said this week amounts to man-made mass starvation.

Israel says it is committed to allowing aid into Gaza but must control it to prevent it being diverted by militants. It says it has let enough food into Gaza during the war and blames Hamas for the suffering of Gaza's 2.2 million people.

WHY DID MACRON DO THIS?

Macron had been leaning towards the move for months as part of a bid to keep the idea of a two-state solution alive, despite the pressure not to do so. He decided to do it ahead of a U.N. conference co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia on the matter next week to try to sway other countries considering that step, or those that are wavering.

WHAT IMPACT COULD IT HAVE ON FRENCH TIES WITH ISRAEL

Ahead of Macron's announcement, Israeli officials had spent months lobbying to prevent what some had called "a nuclear bomb" for bilateral relations.

Sources familiar with the matter say Israel's warnings to France had ranged from scaling back intelligence-sharing to complicating Paris' regional initiatives - even hinting at possible annexation of parts of the West Bank.

WHO COULD BE NEXT?

France's decision may put pressure on major countries like Britain, Germany, Australia, Canada and Japan to take the same path. In the immediate term, Malta and Belgium could be the next countries within the European Union to do so.

A British cabinet minister said on Friday that Britain supports eventual recognition of a Palestinian state, but the immediate priority should be alleviating the suffering in Gaza and securing a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Germany said on Friday it was not planning to recognise Palestinian statehood in the short term, rather its priority was to make "long-overdue progress" towards a two-state solution - Israel and a Palestinian state co-existing in peace.

Italy's foreign minister said recognition must occur simultaneously with the recognition of Israel by a new Palestinian state. "A Palestinian state that does not recognise Israel means that the problem will not be resolved," Antonio Tajani told a gathering in Rome.

WHO ELSE HAS RECOGNISED PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD?

Last year, Ireland, Norway and Spain recognised a Palestinian state with its borders to be demarcated as they were prior to the 1967 Middle East war, when Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

However, they also recognised that those borders may change in any eventual talks to reach a final settlement, and that their decisions did not diminish their belief in Israel's fundamental right to exist in peace and security.

About 144 of the 193 member states of the United Nations recognise Palestine as a state, including most of the global south as well as Russia, China and India. But only a handful of the 27 European Union members do so, mostly former Communist countries as well as Sweden and Cyprus.

The U.N. General Assembly approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine in November 2012 by upgrading its observer status at the world body to "non-member state" from "entity."

HOW DID THE UNITED STATES, ISRAEL, AND PALESTINIANS REACT?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the decision by France, one of Israel's closest allies and a G7 member, saying such a move "rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy".

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz described it as "a disgrace and a surrender to terrorism". He added that Israel would not allow the establishment of a "Palestinian entity that would harm our security, endanger our existence".

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States "strongly rejects" Macron's plan.

"This reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace," Rubio posted on X. "It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th" - a reference to Hamas' 2023 cross-border attack on Israel that set off the Gaza war.

Thanking France, the Palestinian Authority's Vice President Hussein Al Sheikh said Macron's decision reflected "France's commitment to international law and its support for the Palestinian people's rights to self-determination and the establishment of our independent state".

The Palestine Liberation Organization recognised Israel's right to exist in peace at the start of the U.S.-backed peace process in 1993 that set up the Palestinian Authority in what Palestinians hoped would be a stepping stone towards statehood.

But Hamas and other Palestinian Islamist militants who have long dominated Gaza and frequently clash with Israeli forces in the West Bank reject recognition of Israel.