French President Emmanuel Macron announced Tuesday that he will co-chair with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince and de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman a conference on the creation of a Palestinian state in June 2025.
“We decided to co-chair for next June […] a conference for the two states (one Israeli, the other Palestinian) with the idea that in the coming months together we will multiply and unite our diplomatic initiatives to take everyone on this path”, he told French journalists on the second day of his state visit to Saudi Arabia.
Calls for a solution
An announcement which comes as the UN General Assembly is expected to vote on Tuesday in New York on a draft resolution aimed at organizing such an international conference in June. Calls for a two-state solution, based on a Palestinian state alongside Israel, have intensified since the start of the Gaza war.
In May, Ireland, Norway and Spain announced recognition of the State of Palestine, followed by Slovenia in June. Asked about recognition by France, Emmanuel Macron reiterated that he had the “willingness to do it” more “ at the useful moment (that is to say) when it triggers reciprocal movements of recognition.”
“I’m not ruling anything out beforehand” the June conference, he added. “ It depends on how the situation evolves on the ground,” he said. “ We wish to involve several other partners and allies, European and non-European, who are ready to move in this direction but who are waiting for France. he noted again.
It is also about “in doing so, trigger a movement of recognition in favor of Israel which will also make it possible to provide answers in terms of security for Israel and to convince that the two-State solution is a solution which is relevant for Israel itself”, he pointed out.
Discussions with Washington
Saudi Arabia, a Middle East heavyweight and guardian of Islam's two holiest sites, is engaged in talks with Washington to normalize relations with Israel and grant US security guarantees.
But in mid-September, the crown prince ruled out recognition of Israel before the “creation of a Palestinian state”alongside that of Israel. Both Paris and Riyadh are pushing for “two-state solution”rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Everyone is lucid about the fact that there is a political reality today in Israel with a coalition that does not allow it but that there is also a reality on the ground that will impose itself on everyone” , said Emmanuel Macron.
The French president also denounced, particularly in the West Bank, “extremely serious violations of international law (..) pushed by extremists who want endless colonization and destroy the possibility of having two States”.
“We will not give up on this,” he hammered, pointing “people who take a very hard line and give the feeling of acting in an uninhibited way”.
