President Emmanuel Macron's announcement that France would become the first Western member of the United Nations Security Council to recognise a Palestinian state in September has caused diplomatic ructions from the Middle East through Europe to Washington.

A joint statement called for an immediate ceasefire and said that "withholding essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable."

The move to formalise France's recognition of Palestine, announced on Thursday, sparked immediate backlash from Israel and the US, while it was welcomed by several European and Arab leaders.View on eu