[JURIST] French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius [official profile] in a speech before parliament Friday stated that France would recognize a Palestinian state if international efforts to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict fails. The French Parliament will hold [Reuters report] a symbolic vote on December 2nd on whether the government should recognize Palestine as a state. In addition, Fabius acknowledged that the French government is drafting a United Nations Security Council [official website] resolution, which if adopted would launch and conclude statehood negotiations within two years. The foreign minster did not indicate the precise time frame for full French recognition of a Palestinian state.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has ratched up in recent months, with increased violence in both Israel and the Palestinian territories. Earlier this week two UN human rights experts demanded [JURIST report] the Israeli government’s use of house demolition as a punitive measure in response to alleged acts of violence by Palestinians end immediately. In September an independent UN rights expert stated [JURIST report] that there has not been a single child in the Gaza Strip area not affected by the ongoing conflict. Earlier that month Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] accused [JURIST report] the Israeli military of committing war crimes over the summer by attacking schools where hundreds of displaced Palestinians sought shelter.