President Emmanuel Macron's announcement that France would become the first Western member of the United Nations Security Council to recognize a Palestinian state in September has caused diplomatic uproar from the Middle East through Europe to Washington.
But it did not come out of the blue.
When Macron visited the Egyptian town of Al-Arish on the border with Gaza in April, he was struck by the mounting humanitarian crisis and made clear on his return home that Paris would soon opt for recognition.
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