Recognizing Palestine ‘not a taboo for France,’ says Macron
Russia offers to host ‘inter-Palestinian’ talks as international community continues to tout need for movement toward Palestinian statehood, despite Jerusalem’s protests
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that recognizing a Palestinian state was “not a taboo for France,” as Russia invited Hamas and other Palestinian factions to Moscow for “inter-Palestinian” talks on the war in Gaza.
Both statements come on the heels of The Washington Post’s Wednesday report claiming an upcoming announcement by the United States and its Arab allies of a blueprint for Palestinian statehood, though the timing is largely dependent on Israel and Hamas being able to reach a deal pausing the fighting in Gaza.
According to the Post, those behind the plan, including Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Palestinian representatives, as well as the United States, fear that an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah will derail the potential for a peace process.
The Washington Post report elicited condemnation from several members of Israel’s government, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said in a statement Friday that “Israel will continue to oppose the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state,” adding that “such recognition in the wake of the October 7 massacre would give a huge reward to unprecedented terrorism and prevent any future peace settlement.”
On October 7, thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill nearly 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and take over 250 hostages of all ages. Israel’s ensuing Gaza Strip offensive has seen the displacement of over a million Palestinians from the Strip’s north and center, many of whom face severe risk of starvation.
According to Gaza’s Hamas-controlled health ministry, over 28,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war thus far, though the figure, which cannot be independently verified, does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, of whom the Israeli military says it has killed over 10,000.
Speaking at a joint press conference Friday with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Macron made what AFP said were his first comments since the war began on the possibility that France would recognize a Palestinian state.
He decried the large number of civilian casualties from Israel’s Gaza campaign, and joined other countries, including Germany and the US, in warning Israel against a planned offensive in Rafah, which is crammed with upward of a million Palestinian refugees.
“I share the fears of Jordan and Egypt of mass forced displacement of the population,” Macron said of a Rafah offensive, adding that “it would be a new grave violation of international law and present a major risk of escalation for the region.”
Netanyahu has vowed to proceed with the campaign, saying Rafah is Hamas’s “last bastion.” Macron on Wednesday told Netanyahu that the Gaza death toll was “intolerable” and Israel’s operations there “must cease,” his office said.
He stressed that a ceasefire agreement should be reached “without further delay,” adding such a deal should “guarantee the protection of all civilians and the massive inflow of emergency aid.”
Macron also said peace could only be achieved through the “creation of a Palestinian state.”
Meanwhile, Russia has invited around a dozen Palestinian groups to Moscow for “inter-Palestinian” talks from February 29, the state-run TASS news agency reported, citing Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov.
“We invited all Palestinian representatives — all political forces that have their positions in different countries, including Syria, Lebanon and other countries in the region,” said Bogdanov, who is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for the Middle East.
They include Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, alongside representatives of Fatah and the broader Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
Moscow, which for years tried to court good relations with all major players in the region, has grown increasingly critical of Israel and its Western backers amid the ongoing war in Gaza and its own war in Ukraine.
Putin has called for a ceasefire and Moscow has repeatedly criticized Israel’s conduct in the Gaza Strip since the October 7 attack.
The public statements, combined with Russia’s partnerships with Iran and Hamas and Israel’s support for Kyiv, have soured Russian-Israeli relations.
The Times of Israel Community.