The President of France sent a letter to the President of the Palestinian Authority:
25 July 2025
France intends to recognise a Palestinian state in September at the UN General Assembly, President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday in hopes of bringing peace to the region, but the plan drew angry rebukes from Israel and the United States.
Macron, who unveiled the decision on social media, published a letter sent to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas confirming France’s intention to press ahead with Palestinian recognition and work to convincing other partners to follow suit.
“True to its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognise the state of Palestine,” Macron said.
“I will make this solemn announcement at the United Nations General Assembly next September.” …
The news sparked anger in Israel and Washington. …
In response, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States “strongly rejects (Macron’s) plan to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN general assembly.”
In a post on X, he said, “This reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace. It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th.” https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20250725-us-strongly-rejects-french-plan-to-recognise-palestine-saudis-hail-historic-decision
President Abbas was pleased with the French letter:
25 July 2025
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas hails the decision by France to press ahead with recognizing a Palestinian state as a “victory for the Palestinian cause.”
“This reflects France’s commitment to supporting the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights to their land and their homeland,” the president of the Palestinian Authority says. https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/abbas-hails-french-statehood-recognition-as-victory-for-the-palestinian-cause/
President Abbas, during the first Trump Administration, said he wanted European involvement in resolving the situation in that region (see Trump Administration delays revealing peace plan; PA President Abbas wants Europe to mediate peace deal).
The reality is that Palestinian Authority does not trust the Trump Administration. The recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and the moving of the US embassy to Jerusalem brought Palestinian condemnation as well as statements against trusting the US to broker a peace deal in the first Trump Administration.
Although many in Israel claim “Jerusalem is its eternal, undivided capital” (http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2013/November/Will-Jerusalem-Be-Divided-Again/), the Bible shows that Jerusalem will be divided (Zechariah 14:1-2).
The Bible also shows that the time will come when there will be a temporary ‘peace deal’ (see the article The ‘Peace Deal’ of Daniel 9:27)–this will lead to many things, including what, for a time, could be called a “two-state solution.”.
The Bible teaches that a European leader will be involved in confirming the coming prophesied deal of Daniel 9:26-27, which states:
26 And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate (Daniel 9:26-27).
The “prince” is a European leader who is later called the King of the North in Daniel 11:40. The ‘one week’ has generally been understood by prophecy watchers to mean a seven year deal, that is broken in the middle of it (after 3 1/2 years). This break is also confirmed in the following scripture:
31 And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation. (Daniel 11:31)
The “him” is the European King of the North.
Consider further something that the late Pastor General of the old Worldwide Church of God (WCG), Herbert W. Armstrong, wrote on Daniel 11:21-22:
In Daniel 11:21, referring in original, typical fulfillment to Antiochus Epiphanes, there shall stand up a vile person…So once again before the second coming of Christ, a vile leader will stop the daily sacrifices being offered…This same prophecy spoken by Jesus is also reported by Luke…21:20-24 … (Armstrong HW. Personal, Plain Truth magazine, June 1967)
{Daniel 11:22} “the prince of the covenant” does not refer to Christ. This was the attempt of Antiochus to replace the Jewish high priest by another who would be subservient to him. (Armstrong HW. The Middle East in Prophecy. Worldwide Church of God, 1972)
That is also true for “the prince … who will confirm a covenant” mentioned in Daniel 9:26b-27. Furthermore, realize that Herbert Armstrong taught a DUAL FULFILMENT from at least Daniel 11:21 on–hence he is clearly teaching that Jesus is NOT the prince of the covenant, and the one who is coming will be a conqueror who will bring abomination to Jerusalem. Yet, many once part of the old Worldwide Church of God do not understand that.
That said, one way to show Daniel is referring to a European kingdom is to realize that it was the people of the Roman Empire of the 1st century that fulfilled the portion of Daniel 9:26 as they destroyed the city (Jerusalem) in 70 A.D. Jewish sources, while not understanding all of this, also agree that it was Roman sources that destroyed the city and sanctuary as the following demonstrates:
“The people of the prince will come and destroy the city and the Sanctuary” Daniel 9:26, refers to the Roman legions of Vespasian and Titus, who destroyed Jerusalem. (Daniel 9 – A True Biblical Interpretation. Jews for Judaism. https://jewsforjudaism.org/knowledge/articles/answers/jewish-polemics/texts/daniel-9-a-true-biblical-interpretation/ accessed 07/30/16)
In the 21st century, the European Union includes much of the land and peoples that were part of the ancient Roman Empire. And it is the “prince” coming from that people that verse 27 of Daniel 9 is referring to. Thus, this prophecy tells us that a lower level European leader will somewhat officially start to rise up about 3 1/2 years before the great tribulation (and yes, according to Jesus, some “tribulation” does happen prior to the start of the Great Tribulation). Another is the fact that the “beast of the sea” of Revelation 13:1 fits with the beasts from the “great sea” of Daniel 7:2–and that sea is the Mediterranean Sea according to the Old Testament. Hence a power in Europe the only region that could have an empire geographically like the old Roman one (for more details, please see Europa, the Beast, and the Book of Revelation).
Consider the following sequence based upon Daniel’s writings and Jesus’ words in the Gospels:
- The beginning of sorrows (Matthew 24:4-8)–this has begun.
- A seven year deal is confirmed/advanced and the final countdown begun– this has not happened yet, though various ones are working on it.
- There will be persecutions against those the support the true end-time Philadelphia work –this will intensify.
- The Gospel of the Kingdom will reach the world as a witness — this is in progress but not finished.
- The sacrifices will stop and the abomination spoken of by Daniel will be set up. This is about 3 1/2 years after item 2.
- The most faithful will flee (Revelation 12:14-16).
- The Great Tribulation will begin and Jerusalem will be trampled down by Gentiles for 42 months.
- Jesus will return 3 1/2 years after the Great Tribulation begins.
- Jesus will bring peace (see How Will Middle East Peace be Brought About?).
Notice how many items are directly predicated on the seven year deal of Daniel 9:27. Note: The sacrifices will have to start before they are stopped, but precisely where that appears in the sequence is unclear, other than it is after item 2 and prior to item 5.
Now let’s look at the last half of Daniel 9:27:
Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate. (Daniel 9:27)
Ten times in the Book of Revelation (NKJV) it speaks of God’s wrath–many of those times speak of His wrath being poured out (e.g. Revelation 16:1).
The consummation in Daniel 9:27 seems to be related to the final “Day of the Lord.” When it happens (and it starts 2 1/2 years after the start of the Great Tribulation–hence it between steps 8 and 9 above), the world will basically be desolate spiritually–and it is on the desolate it will be poured out on. Information on the Great Tribulation and Day of the Lord is found in the article When Will the Great Tribulation Begin?
With various ones wanting some part of Middle East peace deal, Europeans wanting to be involved, and Palestinians wanting Europe involved, we are seeing steps on the world scene that are aligning with properly understood biblical prophecies.
Some items of possibly related interest may include:
The ‘Peace Deal’ of Daniel 9:27 This prophecy could give up to 3 1/2 years advance notice of the coming Great Tribulation. Will most ignore or misunderstand its fulfillment? Here is a link to a related sermon video Daniel 9:27 and the Start of the Great Tribulation.
How Will Middle East Peace be Brought About? Can humans bring peace to the Middle East? Here is a link to a related video: Middle East Peace? When?
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God This free online pdf booklet has answers many questions people have about the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and explains why it is the solution to the issues the world is facing. Here are links to three related sermons: The World’s False Gospel, The Gospel of the Kingdom: From the New and Old Testaments, and The Kingdom of God is the Solution.
DANIEL This article contains Commentary on the Book of Daniel. Here are links to related sermon videos: Daniel 1-3: Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream, Daniel 4-5: The Handwriting on the Wall, Daniel 6-8: Four Beasts and the King of the North, Daniel 9: 70 Years & 70 Weeks Prophecies, Daniel 10-11:32: Prophecies Fulfilled in History, and Daniel 11:24-31: Events to Watch For, and Daniel 11:32-38: Philadelphian Persecution and Witness.