French President Emmanuel Macron shared a letter addressed to the leader of the Palestinian Authority on Thursday, citing a need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

France has announced its intention to become the first member of the Group of Seven to recognize Palestine as a state. Ireland, Norway and Spain have already done so, breaking from a consensus within Western Europe and the US that the Palestinians should achieve statehood through negotiations with Israel.

More than a third of MPs have signed a letter to Sir Keir Starmer calling for the UK to recognise Palestinian statehood. Some 220 MPs from nine political parties have backed the call, including more than 100 from Labour, arguing that UK recognition would be a "powerful symbolic message" and a vital step toward a two-state solution.

There are 147 UN member states out of 193 that recognise the state of Palestine - but the UK is not one of them

Three quarters of UN members recognise a state of Palestine, with major power France set to join them in September following an announcement Thursday by its President Emmanuel Macron.Other member states such as Poland,