French President Emmanuel Macron officially recognised a Palestinian state at the United Nations on Monday, spurring a wave of Western moves to defy Israel in making the landmark - if symbolic - move.
Macron, speaking at a summit that Israel and its chief backer the United States did not attend, called for an end to the war in Gaza.
"The time for peace has come, as we are just moments away from no longer being able to seize it," Macron said in an address in the General Assembly.
"The time has come to free the 48 hostages held by Hamas. The time has come to stop the war, the bombings of Gaza, the massacres and the displacement."
Macron, however, said France would not open an embassy to a Palestinian state until a ceasefire is in place in Gaza and all captives released.
The Palestinian Authority hailed France's "historic and courageous" decision and its delegation gave him a standing ovation.
Australia, Britain, Canada and Portugal also recognised a Palestinian state, piling pressure on Israel as it intensifies its war in Gaza.
Monaco, Belgium, Andorra, Malta and Luxembourg then all recognised from the General Assembly podium, bringing the total number of recognitions to three-quarters of UN membership.
Spain, Ireland and Norway already recognised a Palestinian state in May, and Sweden did so in 2014.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed not to allow a Palestinian state and far-right members of his cabinet have threatened to annex the West Bank to make statehood impossible.
Israel's UN ambassador Danny Danon said Israel "will take action."
"They are not promoting peace. They are supporting terrorism," he said.
US President Donald Trump "believes [recognising] is a reward to Hamas," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told AFP ahead of the summit: "We should not feel intimidated by the risk of retaliation."
Palestinian Authority praises decision, presses Hamas
The Palestinian Authority hailed France's recognition of Palestine as a "historic and courageous decision" and called on other countries to follow suit.
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas called on Hamas to surrender its weapons to his Palestinian Authority.
"We also condemn the killing and detention of civilians, including Hamas actions on 7 October 2023," the 89-year-old veteran Palestinian leader told the general assembly.
Abbas forced to address the summit virtually after the US refused to visas to Palestinian officials.
France co-hosted the summit with Saudi Arabia, which has flirted with normalisation with Israel, a top goal for Netanyahu.
The Saudi foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, told the summit that concluded late Monday that all countries should follow suit and recognise a Palestinian state.
An independent state would be centered around the Palestinian Authority, which exerts limited control in the West Bank, and is the rival of Gaza-based Hamas.
Israel has sought to minimise the distinction between the two and has refuses to recognise either as legitimate political actors.
Limited practical effect
Germany, Italy and Japan, while all critical of Israel's actions in Gaza, are among major US allies that declined to recognise a Palestinian state.
"A negotiated two-state solution is the path that can allow Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace, security and dignity," German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said.
Singapore on Monday imposed sanctions on leaders of extremist settler groups but declined to recognise Palestine, saying it would do so at an "appropriate" time.
Britain, which backed a Jewish homeland in 1917, said in July it would back off recognising a Palestinian state if Israel agreed to a Gaza ceasefire.
Instead, Israel launched a massive new campaign aimed at seizing Gaza City.
But recognition, while historic, is unlikely to change facts on the ground.
"Unless backed up by concrete measures, recognising Palestine as a state risks becoming a distraction from the reality, which is an accelerating erasure of Palestinian life in their homeland," said the International Crisis Group's Israel-Palestine project director, Max Rodenbeck.
Speaking at the conference on Monday, Australian prime minister Antony Albanese said Israeli land grabs and settler violence in the West Bank must stop and warned Israel against annexing parts of the territory.
"Such conduct risks putting a two-state solution beyond reach," he said at the conference.
The 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 Israelis, mostly civilians, according to official data.
Israeli military operations since then have killed at least 65,344 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and decimated the Gaza Strip.
(AFP and TNA staff)