When war crimes are committed on the shores of the Mediterranean, it is for the honor of our country that its leaders mobilize all their means to prevent their continuation. However, for several months, France's action to put an end to the incredible suffering endured by the Gazan and Lebanese populations has been timid, marked by a discretion completely out of step with the seriousness of the crimes committed by the Israeli army and government in against civilian populations.
However, the current leaders were able to react, legitimately, with force following the terrorist attacks of October 7. They affirmed France's support for the traumatized Israeli civilian population and demanded the release of the hostages. And every day we continue to think of the Israeli hostages still in the hands of Hamas. We will always stand alongside the Israeli population who, in the streets of Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, tirelessly ask the government for a peace plan and a change of policy.
Likewise, and as legitimate as ever, the crimes committed by the Russian army against the Ukrainian population were forcefully denounced, up to the highest level of the State, and we provided military and economic support important to Ukraine for its defense. The mobilization of French diplomacy to obtain the ceasefire just announced in Lebanon is a new demonstration of our capacity for action.
A false helplessness
In contrast, mass crimes against the Palestinian population do not provoke diplomatic condemnation and action proportionate to their seriousness. However, the very definition of the international order of the 21st century is at stake. Will it be the century of widespread violence, including against civilian populations, or international law and the most elementary principles of the laws of war will they be respected?
It is France's duty, in view of its history, including the black page of collaboration with Nazi crimes and colonial violence, to firmly and resolutely defend respect for humanitarian law. The “never again”, which has haunted the European conscience since the Holocaust, must find its concrete expression in resolute action to protect vulnerable populations exposed to the crimes of States and armies.
Some want us to believe that we would be condemned to impotence, even though we have not tried everything to stop the unspeakable: the use of hunger and thirst against a civilian population of two million souls; the death and mutilation of children, many of them very young; large-scale forced displacement; the destruction of historical and cultural heritage.
Open your eyes
French leaders must open their eyes to the reality of current Israeli power, and draw the consequences of its extremist radicalization and theological supremacism. Let's name things: the Israeli government and army are guilty, in the words of Israeli historian Omer Bartov, of “war crimes, crimes against humanity and systematic genocidal actions”, while the International Court of Justice (ICC) alerts us to the plausible risk of genocide, justifying preventive actions in accordance with the spirit of the 1948 Convention. This radicalization threatens the very foundations of Israeli democracy, as every bring Israeli peace organizations to the world.
Every day, children and civilians die under Israeli bombs. Every day the release of the last hostages becomes more illusory. Every day the conditions for a just and lasting peace are moving away.
Ending cycles of violence
Only firm, external pressure can put an end to the cycles of violence. We propose a five-point plan which could be applied immediately by a group of States including France and European States which have already refused the unacceptable, such as Spain, Belgium, Ireland, Slovenia or Norway.
These States would announce now that in the absence of a rapid and measurable improvement in living conditions in the Gaza Strip, an end to civilian deaths and hostilities in both Gaza and Lebanon, a series of gradual diplomatic actions would be adopted: the recognition of the Palestinian State and the promotion in multilateral forums of the coexistence of two States; the announcement of the desire to implement the arrest warrant issued by the ICC against Benyamin Netanyahu and the reaffirmation of support for the ICC; the vote to suspend the European Union's association agreement with Israel; stopping the delivery of weapons to Israel – whatever their use –; the adoption of sanctions against those who participate in the implementation of crimes against the Palestinian population; and as a last resort and in the absence of concrete improvement on the ground, the cessation of all forms of administrative, civil and military cooperation with Israel.
Denounce American support
Finally, France should clearly and unequivocally denounce not only the crimes committed against civilian populations, but also the American support from which they benefit. Indeed, once again the United States has vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire. France did not tremble in seeking to prevent the illegitimate invasion of Iraq by the United States, contrary to international law.
It must not, even though the survival of a people depends on it, fear denouncing the unconditional support of the Americans and the consequences of massive arms deliveries to their ally. The return to power of Donald Trump in January 2025 risks, given the latest comments that his entourage has made, of leading us into general chaos. War for war's sake and no escape route for Israelis, Palestinians and Lebanese.
The path to peace is arduous but always achievable with uncompromising respect for fundamental principles. France must, for its honor and its influence, be counted among the nations which will have done everything to impose it and protect the innocent victims of this conflict, whoever they may be, Israeli or Palestinian.
