"Emmanuel Macron should stand with the PLO": Fabien Roussel calls for recognition of the State of Palestine and calls for a rally on May 26

Can international pressure force Benjamin Netanyahu to back down? Fabien Roussel is calling on Western governments to "take coercive measures" as the Israeli army launches a new phase in the war in Gaza, escalating the genocide and aiming for the total occupation of the Palestinian enclave .

"France can choose to cease all its commercial relations with Israel and recall its ambassador," said the national secretary of the PCF, who also called on progressive forces to hold a rally on Monday, May 26 at the Trocadéro, under the slogan "Stop the massacres, peace now, recognition of the State of Palestine."

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has announced that the EU will review its association agreement with Israel in light of Netanyahu's government's actions in Gaza. Is this enough?

In the face of the atrocities committed in Gaza, responses must be strong. Following the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023, more than 52,000 Gazans died in a hail of Israeli bombs, including more than 15,000 children. We are witnessing a true ethnic cleansing. Now, a famine is being deliberately engineered by Benjamin Netanyahu's government and used as a weapon of war.

This is genocide: Israeli government officials have clearly stated their intentions, advocating the annihilation and erasure of the Palestinian people and the expansion of colonization. Compared to their firmness toward Russia, European heads of state are entrenched in double standards. French diplomacy remains in a state of serious inaction, contenting itself with declarative postures, without taking the necessary coercive measures against Israel.

Which ones?

We need firmness and concrete action! The European Union has declared that it will only just begin to consider the association agreement with Israel . Stop, it must be challenged now. European leaders know how to act quickly against Putin, but they are extremely slow to implement measures against Netanyahu. France can choose to cease all trade relations with Israel and recall its ambassador.

Benjamin Netanyahu and his ministers must appear before the International Criminal Court. I have also addressed the 4,000 French dual nationals serving in the Israeli army. I ask them to examine their consciences and lay down their arms. Like other Israeli soldiers have done, they can refuse to be complicit in the first genocidal enterprise of the ^21st century. Otherwise, they will have to answer before French and international justice.

The French Communist Party (PCF) is calling for a rally this Monday, May 26, at the Trocadéro in Paris, at 7 p.m. What are the details of this initiative?

People around the world are horrified by the images reaching us from Gaza. However, uncertainty remains over how to take action to put an end to these war crimes. The French Communist Party (PCF) is calling on the French people, progressive forces, associations, and unions to mobilize behind a common slogan: "Stop the massacres, peace now, recognition of the State of Palestine." I hope this gathering will be broad. We must bring together progressive forces from all sides.

How can we increase pressure to achieve, at the very least, a ceasefire?

I remember the immense campaign against Apartheid. It took mobilizations in every capital to bring about the fall of the racist regime in South Africa, as well as the release of Nelson Mandela. Today, Benjamin Netanyahu feels not only unpunished, but supported by Donald Trump and some European states. Popular pressure must increase on these governments. Young people must not be afraid to get involved. For our part, the French Communist Party has launched various concrete solidarity initiatives, including a fundraising campaign to plant one million olive trees in the Palestinian territories .

The French Communist Party (PCF) is organizing a conference in conjunction with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on June 4. What are its objectives?

The PLO asked the French Communist Party (PCF) to co-organize a conference to demand recognition of a State of Palestine, alongside Israel, within the 1967 borders. We immediately responded favorably, and we have been working with the Palestinian Authority on this day for several months. PLO leaders will be attending. Representatives from European and Arab countries will be present, as well as French ambassadors, political leaders, and trade unionists.

Former President François Hollande and former Foreign Minister Hubert Védrine have confirmed their participation. I am in contact with the Élysée Palace on this matter because this conference will be held on the eve of France's initiative at the UN in mid-June. It is time for France to assume its responsibilities by recognizing the State of Palestine. The balance of power against the Israeli government must intensify, particularly through international diplomacy. The end of colonization in the West Bank and the occupied territories must also be included in the discussions. Despite UN resolutions, Israeli settlement construction has intensified, alongside the massacres committed in Gaza.

Spain not only recognized the State of Palestine, but also reneged on arms contracts with the Israeli government. Has France lived up to its promise?

No, and our government should have led a group of countries to exert diplomatic and political pressure against Israel and the American government, which is what it did against Putin. Rather than issuing numerous statements, Emmanuel Macron should stand alongside the PLO to recognize the State of Palestine. France is not living up to its history.

Like Jacques Chirac, former heads of state have been more respectful of the people. We have moved from a France of action to one of communiqués. Previously, through our diplomatic independence and the values ​​we upheld, we were a country respected internationally, including by the United States. When France said no to the war in Iraq in 2003, our fellow citizens were united behind this objective. Today, through his wait-and-see attitude, Emmanuel Macron is not uniting the French people.

Since March 2, Israel has banned humanitarian convoys from accessing Gaza. Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, has denounced the use of this aid "as a weapon and a political tool to achieve its illegitimate objectives." Do you share this analysis?

Yes. After the destruction of homes, hospitals, schools, and water systems, and the sniper fire on children, famine has been imposed on Gazans. But in reality, the use of food aid as a weapon of war is nothing new.

In March 2024, when I led a French Communist Party delegation to the West Bank, NGOs alerted us to the measures Israel was putting in place to starve neighborhoods. These crimes are now being committed throughout the Gaza Strip. These are proven crimes against humanity. All countries should denounce this massacre. To do nothing is to be complicit.