A French envoy says that the country and its European partners are considering giving formal recognition to a Palestinian state.

French Ambassador to the UN Gerard Araud told a UN Security Council debate on the Middle East on Thursday that “recognition of the state of Palestine is one of the options which France is considering, with its European partners, with a view to creating a political horizon” to relaunch the Middle East talks.

Direct talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) broke down in late September after an Israeli partial moratorium on settlement construction expired.

Palestinians have said they will not negotiate while Israel’s illegal settlement construction continues in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem), areas they want as part of a future state.

Araud said that Palestinians are more than ready to establish a state and “manage it in a credible fashion.”

He said that the international community had to act swiftly to support its creation, adding that the move is aimed at putting pressure on the US and Israel to resume talks with the PA.

He said that France and its European partners say they are evaluating other measures as well.

Acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas has said that he will seek recognition of an independent state at the UN General Assembly this September if Western efforts to resume talks fail.

Palestinian leaders have appealed to world powers to recognize an independent Palestinian state, based on borders that were in place before the 1967 Middle East war.

Over 100 countries have endorsed the Palestinians’ 1988 declaration of independent statehood.

Among them, several Latin American countries, such as Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela, have recognized an independent Palestinian state.

(Press TV)