The French President, Emmanuel Macron, defended this Tuesday before the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that Israel must recognize the legitimate right of the Palestinians to have their own State.
The security of the region “will not be guaranteed” if Israel “does not accept the legitimate right of the Palestinians to have a territory and a State in peace and security alongside Israel,” Macron said.
For Macron, “Israel’s security cannot be durable without a decisive resumption of the political process with the Palestinians.”
“Hamas is a terrorist group, therefore it does not embody the Palestinian cause. It must be fought with force and the Palestinian cause must be understood,” said Macron, quoted by the Spanish agency EFE.
In this sense, the French leader proposed that the international coalition currently deployed in Iraq and Syria to combat the Islamic State could also act against Hamas.
“France is prepared so that the international coalition against the Islamic State, in which we are involved, can also fight against Hamas,” he said. “I propose to our international partners that we build a regional and international coalition to fight against terrorist groups that threaten us all,” he insisted.
The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, is considered a terrorist organization by the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and Israel.
Macron traveled to Israel today to express France’s solidarity following the Hamas attack on October 7 that left 1,400 dead, according to Tel Aviv authorities.
Hamas also kidnapped more than two hundred Israelis and foreigners held hostage in the Gaza Strip, four of whom have since been released.
Israel declared war on Hamas and, since then, has bombed the Gaza Strip, where 2.3 million people live, daily, leaving almost 5,800 dead, according to the Islamist group.
“It is a black page in our history,” said Macron, who offered his condolences to Israel for the “most terrible act of terrorism” it has suffered since it declared its independence in 1948.
Shortly after arriving at Tel Aviv airport, Macron met with the families of French citizens or dual nationals killed, missing or taken hostage in the Gaza Strip.
“The first objective we must have today is the release of all the hostages, without any distinction,” declared Macron during a meeting with his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog.
Macron is expected to travel to Ramallah in the West Bank today to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
The French presidency announced that after visiting Israel and the West Bank, Macron will travel to Amman to meet with King Abdullah II of Jordan and “perhaps other leaders in the region.”
Source: TSF
