Paris, France - French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday his country will formally recognize a Palestinian state during a UN meeting in September, becoming most powerful European nation to announce such a move.

At least 142 countries now recognize or plan to recognize Palestinian statehood, according to an AFP tally.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it a "reckless decision (that) only serves Hamas propaganda."

"It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th," he wrote on X.

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Several countries have announced plans to recognize statehood for the Palestinians since Israel – which has illegally occupied Palestinian territories since 1967 – began its campaign of destruction in Gaza.

Macron's announcement drew immediate anger from Israel, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying it "rewards terror" and poses an existential threat to Israel.

Senior Palestinian Authority official Hussein al-Sheikh 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."

Hamas hailed Macron's 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."

"We call on all countries of the world – especially European nations and those that have not yet recognized the State of Palestine – to follow France's lead," it added.

France's move came as Israel continues to subject more two million Palestinians in Gaza to starvation, amid an assault that numerous experts and scholars have concluded is genocidal.

Backed to the hilt by its main patron, the US, Israel has also taken rapid steps towards formally annexing the West Bank, where Palestinians live under a regime of apartheid according to human rights and legal organizations.

Macron said the "urgent priority today is to end the war in Gaza and rescue the civilian population."

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"We must finally build the State of Palestine, ensure its viability and enable it, by accepting its demilitarization and fully recognizing Israel, to contribute to the security of all in the Middle East," he wrote on social media.

Macron said he intended to make the announcement at the UN General Assembly in September.

While France would be the most significant European power to recognize a Palestinian state, others have hinted they could do the same.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer – who has also mostly backed Israel's brutal assault on Gaza – announced he would hold a call on Friday with counterparts in Germany and France on efforts to stop the fighting, adding that a ceasefire would "put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state".

Norway, Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia all announced recognition following the outbreak of the Gaza conflict, along with several other non-European countries.