Gaza's future does not depend on Israel, France says

Doctors and relatives of Palestinians killed in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas mourn alongside their loved ones' Bodies at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Photo: HAITHAM IMAD/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Gaza's future does not depend on Israel, France warned on Thursday, calling on the Israeli government to curb settler violence in the West Coast.

Anne-Claire Legendre, a spokeswoman for the French Foreign Ministry, said the Palestinian Authority, despite its weakened position, must decide how Gaza should be governed as part of a future state.

< p>“As for Gaza, it is not for the Israelis to decide the terms of the future governance of the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip is destined to be part of a future Palestinian state, and the Palestinian Authority is destined to exercise its authority there,” she told reporters in Paris.

Anne-Claire Legendre, a spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry, says Israel cannot dictate Gaza's future. Photo: Anadolu/Anadolu

The call came after Israeli President Isaac Herzog said his country could not leave a vacuum in the Gaza Strip and would have to maintain a «very strong force» in the coastal area in the near future to prevent the re-emergence of Hamas.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr. Herzog said the issue was the subject of debate within the Israeli government, and he suggested that the United States and “our neighbors in the region” would have some involvement in the post-conflict order. .

“If we retreat, who will take control? We can't leave a vacuum. We need to think about what the mechanism will be; there are a lot of ideas floating around,” Mr. Herzog said. “But no one will want to turn this place, the Gaza Strip, into a terrorist base again.”

Isaac Herzog, President of Israel says that his country cannot leave a vacuum in the Gaza Strip. Photo: Stephanie Reynolds/Reuters

Beyond governance, France also called on Israel to rein in settlers in the West Bank who were displacing Palestinians through “terror.”

“France condemns in the strongest terms Israeli settler violence against Palestinians, whose clear goal is the forced displacement of Palestinians through a policy of terror,” said Ms. Legendre.

“The Israeli authorities must take the necessary measures to protect Palestinian population… and to respect its obligations to the entire population as an occupying force,» she added.

The strong words from the French Foreign Ministry came as President Emmanuel Macron defended his position on the war between Israel and Hamas.

p>

Speaking from Bern in Switzerland, Mr Macron said: “I fully accept [my] position because I think it is consistent. Recognizing Israel's right to self-defense does not justify the bombing of civilians and the deaths of children and families as a result of these explosions.»

Macron criticized

This week, a group of French diplomats signed a highly unusual joint memorandum criticizing what they say is pro-Israel bias Macron.

On Thursday, Mr Macron again called for «an immediate truce leading to a humanitarian ceasefire» but admitted that «at a European level, frankly, there is no common position.»

Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister Great Britain, did not call for a ceasefire, mentioning “pauses.” Joe Biden, the US president, also ruled out a ceasefire and defended Israel's controversial military operation at Gaza's largest hospital.

Israel's military operations will end «when Hamas can no longer kill, abuse Israelis and just do terrible things to Israelis,» he said.

On Wednesday, Mr Macron insisted on his own. that his position was “balanced” and “never changed.”

“There are no double standards for France,” he said. “We fully recognize Israel's right to self-defense and to fight terrorism, but since Israel is a democratic country… this right of self-defense must be exercised within the framework of international humanitarian law and in compliance with the rules of war.”