Diplomacy: France backtracks and will not recognize the State of Palestine alone

A few days before a conference organized at the UN on this issue, Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot half-returned to Emmanuel Macron's promise , affirming this Friday that France will not recognize the State of Palestine on its own.

Asked by RTL whether France, which will co-chair the conference with Saudi Arabia in New York, will recognize a State of Palestine, Jean-Noël Barrot reaffirmed: "We are determined to do so." The goal, he said, is "to bring a number of countries with us, and also to bring all stakeholders, including the Palestinian Authority and the Arab countries."

He clarified, however, that France would not formalize such recognition alone. "France could have made a symbolic decision. This is not the choice we made because we have a special responsibility; it is France, it is a permanent member of the Security Council," the minister affirmed. "If we do this, it is to change things and ensure that the existence of this State of Palestine becomes more credible, more possible," he added.

He also reiterated the "absolute necessity," according to Paris, "of addressing the issue of Hamas disarmament" for the future of Gaza. The international conference co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, which is intended to relaunch a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, known as a "two-state" solution, will be held from June 17 to 20.

Jean-Noël Barrot also denounced "a militarized system of distribution" of humanitarian aid in Gaza, starved by a blockade imposed by Israel for more than two months , only partially eased in recent days. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorized a limited amount of humanitarian aid through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), supported by the United States and Israel, which said Thursday it had resumed its food distributions. "The result is chaos. This distribution system has caused riots and deadly violence," said Jean-Noël Barrot.