JERUSALEM (Reuters) -A widely condemned Israeli settlement plan that would cut across land which the Palestinians seek for a state received final approval on Wednesday, according to a statement from Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

France, Britain, Canada, Australia, and Malta all say they are preparing to recognize a state of Palestine at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in September. They would join another 147 UN countries that already do so.

Germany's foreign minister has called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas after a meeting in Indonesia.

Several countries including Australia, the United Kingdom and France have moved to recognize a Palestinian state.

Shahed Ghoreishi recommended expressing condolences for slain journalists in Gaza and opposing the forced displacement of Palestinians. He was fired days later.

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.

Nearly 6 in 10 Americans said the United Nations countries should recognize the Palestinian state, according to a survey that was published Wednesday morning. The Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 58 percent of U.

The poll was conducted after the leaders of France, Canada and the U.K. announced their intention to recognize Palestinian statehood.

Australia will recognize the state of Palestine, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced Monday, making Canberra the latest Western government to take the mostly symbolic move.

International recognition will do as much to rebuke Hamas’s maximalist demands as it will those of the Israeli right, dealing a blow to expansionist aspirations in the West Bank, the only territory that has any realistic chance of becoming a Palestinian state.