French MPs Urge President Hollande To Officially Recognize Palestinian State

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On Sunday 153 politicians signed an open letter urging outgoing President Francois Hollande to officially recognize the state of Palestine.

The letter stated that “France must demonstrate its determination to break the deadlock on this conflict by solemnly reaffirming, in the name of the uniform right to self-determination, that the Palestinian people have the right to be granted the title of a State. It is a matter of respect for international law as well as of Israel’s security”

France has long supported a two-state solution, and the letter was signed by MP’s from across the political spectrum.

RT reports:

Written by Gilbert Roger, a French Socialist senator from the Seine-Saint-Denis district and president of the France-Palestine Friendship Group, the letter also states that it is unjust for France to advocate a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict without recognizing both states.

“As you yourself said, Mr. President, ‘only bilateral negotiations can be successful,’” the letter notes.
“It is therefore time for these negotiations to take place on an equal footing, State to State. France cannot officially advocate the two-state solution and recognize only one [France recognized the State of Israel in 1949]. Our actions must now follow our words. Mr. President, show yourself up to the challenge and do not miss this rendezvous with history, recognizing the State of Palestine from now on,” the letter says.

The open letter has now been signed by 153 parliamentarians from most political groups in France’s two Parliament Chambers, with a slight majority from the left. 

Last month, France hosted an international conference aimed at strengthening a global commitment to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, yet both Israel and Palestine were no shows. The meeting of some 70 nations was consequently dubbed by many as “useless.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it “futile,” complaining that the Europeans and Palestinians had “rigged” the event against Israeli interests. The Palestinian Authority’s president, Mahmoud Abbas, called Israel’s position regrettable, but didn’t arrive for the talks in Paris either, despite initial expectations.

The United States also skipped the conference, reportedly due to President Donald Trump’s close relationship with Israel. Last week, during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the US, Trump called on Israel to pause settlement expansion on Palestinian land, while noting that he is not inclined to support a two-state solution to the conflict – a major shift from long-standing US policy.

“I’d like to see you pull back on settlements for a little bit,” Trump said, while promising to strike a deal to end to the decades-long conflict. After the meeting, he remarked that he “can live with either” a one-state or two-state solution.

Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem has been one of the major stumbling blocks in Israel-Palestine peace negotiations. Israel began building settlements following the Six Day War in 1967, when Israel captured the West Bank of the Jordan river and subsequently annexed East Jerusalem. Palestine claims East Jerusalem as its own future capital, while Israel considers the entire city its capital.

The last peace effort, which was brokered by John Kerry when he was US secretary of state in April 2014, failed after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas forged an unexpected pact on governing the Gaza Strip with Hamas, which Israel sees as a terrorist organization bent on the destruction of the Jewish state. Since then, both France and Russia have offered to host peace talks, but to no avail. 

French ambassadors also marked their support for a Palestinian State in another open letter earlier in the year, where they stated that it would be in accordance with France’s principle of defending human rights.

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