France, Canada and the United Kingdom have called for Palestinian sovereignty at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) with French President Emmanuel Macron condemning the world’s failure to act against Israel’s restrictions on aid to Gaza as shameful.

“One year ago, in this very chamber, several dozen states recognized Palestine,” he said. Macron questioned the international community’s response to the situation in Gaza, saying: “What is our credibility worth if we remain inactive on Gaza?”

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday warned against a “survival of the fittest” approach to international relations in his address to the UN General Assembly. At a bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump in New York, Macron said that Israel’s killing of Hamas leaders was a “great achievement” but “a military solution alone” would not resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Read our blog to see how the day’s events unfolded.

Macron’s impassioned address on Tuesday came as Israeli forces killed at least three Palestinians in Gaza City despite a “ceasefire” brokered by the United States in October. More than 73,900 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel’s genocidal war began in October 2023, including 1,399 since the “ceasefire” took effect.

In his speech to UNGA in New York, Macron noted that France was among a dozen countries that recognised a Palestinian state a year ago. But he asked: “What credibility do we have if we continue to remain inactive in the face of Gaza?”

“Some boast of a supposed peace, but this peace hasn’t reopened humanitarian routes for a single second,” he said, adding: “Must we stand by and watch this spectacle that shames us all?”

Macron also criticised what he called Israel’s daily “violations” in the occupied West Bank.

“All those who claim that Israel’s security depends on violating the sovereignty of all its neighbours are making a fatal mistake, weakening Israel’s security for today and tomorrow and threatening it,” he warned.

Macron also condemned what he described as continuing violations in the West Bank. “Look at what’s happening in the West Bank, where day in and day out we are seeing violations, and in the name of what?” he said. “Hamas has never been active in the West Bank.”

“What we need is respect for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and their right to exist,” Macron said, calling this “a prerequisite for security.”

Macron addressed UNGA hours after United States President Donald Trump from the same rostrum ⁠hailed his Gaza peace plan as a diplomatic triumph. The White House dismissed Macron’s criticism, saying no one has done more for peace and stability in the region than Trump.

Separately, Macron, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Canadian Prime Minister Mike Carney and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud chaired a meeting at UNGA on Palestinian statehood.

Burnham told delegates from dozens of countries that failure to deliver a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will undermine faith in politicians who have talked about the issue but have not taken action.

“We all live in an era of low trust in politics. Many people in this room, many politicians around the world, have spoken for decades about a two-state solution,” he said. “But if we fail to back those words with deeds, we will further corrode trust in the political, diplomatic and international process.”

Burnham added that the UK has banned trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which are illegal under international law. He described Israel’s E1 settlement project as “a deliberate attempt to block a two-state solution”. The project would bisect the occupied West Bank and cut it off from East Jerusalem, fragmenting the land Palestinians hope will form the heart of a future state.

Carney, meanwhile, announced that Canada would give 100 million Canadian dollars ($71m) in aid to Palestinians to preserve “the possibility of a two-state solution”.

He said 80 percent of the funding will go towards direct humanitarian aid while the remaining 20 percent will be allocated to “support peace and security”, including Canada’s multiyear initiative to train Palestinian police in the West Bank.

Carney said Palestinians in Gaza continued to endure “immense human suffering” while Israelis faced “existential threats from Hamas and from Iran and its proxies”. He also criticised the E1 settlement project and said Canada intended to introduce restrictions on goods produced in West Bank settlements.