BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany is not planning to recognise a Palestinian state in the short term and said its priority now is to make "long-overdue progress" towards a two-state solution, a German government spokesperson said on Friday.

"Israel's security is of paramount importance to the German government," said the spokesperson. "The German government therefore has no plans to recognise a Palestinian state in the short term."

France's decision to recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September also drew condemnation from Israel and the United States, amid the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Germany's stance on Israel is strongly influenced by what it regards as a special responsibility to atone for the Nazi Holocaust against European Jews in which six million were killed during Hitler's 1933-45 regime.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced the decision late Thursday, shortly........

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