ZAGREB (Croatia): Recognising Palestinian statehood will destabilise the Middle East, Israel’s foreign minister warned Tuesday with several nations announcing their intention to make the move.

President Emmanuel Macron said in July that France would recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly meeting later this month.

Several other countries, including Australia, Belgium and Canada have since followed, saying they will do the same.

The British government said it would take the step if Israel fails to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza.

“The current initiative to recognise a so-called Palestinian state… rewards Hamas for the October 7 massacre,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in the Croatian capital, referring to the October 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war.

“This initiative will not bring us closer to peace or security, the opposite, it will only destabilise the region,” he added.

Saar spoke at a joint press conference with his Croatian counterpart Gordan Grlic Radman, who emphasised his belief in the two-state solution that Israel rejects.

On Monday, Spain — which recognised the Palestinian state last year — announced a series of measures aimed at stopping what Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the “genocide in Gaza”, including an arms embargo on Israel.

The European Union has so far failed to take action against Israel because of deep divisions among its 27 members.

“Peace will be achieved in a bilateral context and not through decisions taken in Paris or Madrid,” Saar said in Zagreb on Tuesday.

Hamas’ 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,605 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.