France to urge countries at UN to join ‘ambitious’ push for Palestinian state
Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot says France will use the international conference at the UN starting today to urge other countries to join it in recognising a Palestinian state.
In an interview published in La Tribune Dimanche, Barrot said France intends to formally recognise a Palestinian state in September, during the annual UN General Assembly in New York – a move President Emmanuel Macron announced last week.
“We will launch an appeal in New York so that other countries join us to initiate an even more ambitious and demanding dynamic that will culminate on September 21,” Barrot said.
He added that he expects Arab nations to condemn the Palestinian group Hamas and call for its disarmament by then.
The long-awaited conference, postponed after Israel launched attacks on Iran, is co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia.
On Monday, at the UN headquarters in New York, it will aim to lay out a roadmap towards a two-state solution, including parameters for Palestinian statehood and guarantees for Israel’s security.
US, Israel will boycott conference on Israel-Palestine
The US and Israel will not participate in a conference hosted by France and Saudi Arabia on Israel and Palestine, set to begin in New York today.
A US State Department spokesperson described the conference as “a gift to Hamas, which continues to reject ceasefire proposals accepted by Israel that would lead to the release of hostages and bring calm in Gaza”, according to Reuters.
The spokesperson added that Washington voted against the UN General Assembly last year, calling for the conference and would “not support actions that jeopardise the prospect for a long-term, peaceful resolution to the conflict”.
Israel is also not taking part in the conference, “which doesn’t first urgently address the issue of condemning Hamas and returning all of the remaining hostages”, said Jonathan Harounoff, spokesperson at Israel’s UN mission.
Israel’s defence minister threatens to unleash ‘gates of hell’ in Gaza if captives not returned
Defence Minister Israel Katz says the government must soon make tough decisions about the war effort and has threatened escalation if Hamas does not free the captives.
“This is a complex war, beyond anything we’ve done in the past. We are approaching stages where decisions must be made,” Katz said in comments carried by Israel’s Ynet news site.
“If Hamas does not release the hostages, the gates of hell will open in Gaza.”
The hostages would have been long home if you had not broken the ceasefire in March... But you would have found different excuses to keep beating the war drums. Lebanon and Syria don't have any hostages and keep getting bombed...
