Hamas hailed France's decision to recognise the State of Palestine on Thursday.
The group described the pledge as a "positive step in the right direction toward doing justice to our oppressed Palestinian people and supporting their legitimate right to self-determination".
The recognition will come into effect in September
"We call on all countries of the world, especially European nations and those that have not yet recognised the State of Palestine, to follow France's lead," Hamas said.
Senior Palestinian Authority official Hussein Al-Sheikh also welcomed the move, saying it "reflects 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".
France's President Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday that his country would formally recognise a Palestinian state during the UN General Assembly in September, becoming the most significant western European power to do so.
While the move won widespread praise, the decision drew expected criticism from Israeli leaders, who threatened to annex illegally occupied Palestinian land in response.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move "rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became".
"A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel - not to live in peace beside it," he said.
"Let's be clear: the Palestinians do not seek a state alongside Israel; they seek a state instead of Israel."
Netanyahu, like many Israeli leaders, has long opposed Palestinian statehood, and has reiterated this stance amid the war on Gaza.
Extremist Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for said he "thank[s] President Macron for providing yet another compelling reason to finally apply Israeli sovereignty over the historic regions of Judea and Samaria," using names often used by Jewish extremists to refer to the occupied West Bank.
He said the move would allow Israel "to definitively abandon the failed concept of establishing a Palestinian terrorist state in the heart of the Land of Israel".
Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who is from Netanyahu's Likud Party said annexing the West Bank would be "a response of historical justice to the shameful decision of the French President".
"The Land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel, and President Macron's declaration will not change that," Levin said.
Immigration and Absorption Minister Ofir Sofer called for French Jews to move to Israel.
"The State of Israel welcomes the many immigrants from France who have chosen to return to their true home here in Israel since October 7, despite the war," Sofer writes on X. "We are preparing with a variety of new and unique programs to expand absorption."
"French Jews, this is your home – the State of Israel."
Israel's Minister of Diaspora Affairs responded by referencing the viral video of Macron's wife seemingly slapping the president as they visited Vietnam in May.
The United States, Israel's top ally, also expressed its opposition to the move by Paris.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the move a "reckless decision" that "only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace".
Defending its decision, France's Foreign Minister claimed its plan to recognise a Palestinian state formally runs counter to the stance held by Hamas.
"Hamas has always ruled out a two-state solution. By recognising Palestine, France goes against that terrorist organisation," Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X, likely referring to Hamas' now defunct charter.
In 2017, the group presented a new version of the charter which said it would accept a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, without formally recognising Israel.
Barrot said in his X message that France, with its decision, was "backing the side of peace against the side of war".
At least 142 countries now recognise or plan to recognise Palestinian statehood, including Spain, with its Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, welcoming Macron's announcement.
"Together, we must protect what Netanyahu is trying to destroy. The two-state solution is the only solution," Sanchez said.
Macron said last April that France could recognise a Palestinian state in June, which was met with backlash by Israel, and had urged the UK to do the same.
Although Palestine has been recognised as a sovereign state by almost 150 countries, most major Western powers including the United States, Britain and Germany have refused to recognise it.