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NDTV
13 minutes ago
- NDTV
"No Alternative" To Two-State Solution For Israel, Palestinians: France
There is no alternative to a two-state solution between Israelis and the Palestinians, France told a UN conference co-chaired with Saudi Arabia Monday that was boycotted by Israel and branded a stunt by Washington. "Only a political, two-state solution will help respond to the legitimate aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security. There is no alternative," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said at the start of the three-day meeting. Days before the conference, French President Emmanuel Macron announced he would formally recognize Palestinian statehood in September, provoking strong opposition from Israel and the United States. Barrot said that other Western countries will confirm their intention to recognize the state of Palestine during the conference, without confirming which. "All states have a responsibility to act now," said Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Mustafa at the start of the meeting, calling for an international force to help underwrite Palestinian statehood. He called for the world to recognize Palestinian statehood, while later demanding that Hamas surrender control of the Gaza Strip and its arms as part of a deal to end fighting in the territory. France is hoping Britain will follow its lead. More than 200 British members of parliament on Friday voiced support for the idea, but Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that recognition of a Palestinian state "must be part of a wider plan." United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the meeting "the two-state solution is farther than ever before." According to an AFP database, at least 142 of the 193 UN member states now recognize the Palestinian state proclaimed by the Palestinian leadership in exile in 1988. In 1947, in a resolution approved by the General Assembly, the United Nations decided to partition Palestine, then under a British mandate, into Jewish and Arab states. Israel was proclaimed in 1948. For decades, most UN members have supported a two-state solution with Israel and a Palestinian state existing side-by-side. But after more than 21 months of war in Gaza, the ongoing expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and Israeli officials declaring designs to annex occupied territory, it is feared a Palestinian state could become geographically impossible. The current war in Gaza started following a deadly attack by Hamas on Israel, which responded with a large-scale military response that has claimed tens of thousands of Palestinian lives and destroyed most infrastructure in the enclave. Barrot said it would be an "illusion to think that you can get to a lasting ceasefire without having an outline of what's going to happen in Gaza after the end of the war and having a political horizon." - 'Israeli unilateral actions' - Beyond facilitating conditions for recognizing Palestine, the meeting will focus on three other issues: reform of the Palestinian Authority, disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from Palestinian public life, and normalization of relations with Israel by Arab states. However, no new normalization deals are expected to be announced at the meeting, according to a French diplomatic source. Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud said US President Donald Trump could be a "catalyst" to ending the war in Gaza and jump-starting the two-state solution, stressing Riyadh had no plans to normalize relations with Israel. Following his plea to Trump, the US State Department labeled the three-day event "unproductive and ill-timed," as well as a "publicity stunt" that would make finding peace harder. Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said action was needed to counter Israeli "settlements, land confiscation (and) encroachments on the holy sites." Israel and the United States were not taking part in the meeting, amid growing international pressure on Israel to end nearly two years of war in Gaza. Despite "tactical pauses" announced by Israel, the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza will dominate speeches. Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said "this conference does not promote a solution."
The Hindu
13 minutes ago
- The Hindu
France calls on EU to pressure Israel to come to table on Palestinian two-state solution
France on Monday (July 28, 2025) called on the European Union to pressure Israel to agree to a two-state solution with the Palestinians, the latest escalation from France as it seeks an end to the deadly Gaza war days after pledging to recognize Palestine as a state. Jean-Noël Barrot, the French Foreign Minister, told reporters at the United Nations that while there is international consensus that the time for a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is now, world powers need to back up their words with actions. Editorial | State for the stateless: on France and Palestinian statehood 'The European Commission, on behalf of the EU, has to express its expectations and show the means that we can incentivise the Israeli government to hear this appeal," he said. Barrot spoke on the first day of a high-level UN meeting on a two-state solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is being co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia. The conference, which was postponed from June and downgraded to the ministerial level, is taking place in New York as international condemnation of Israel's handling of the war in Gaza reaches a fever pitch. Both Israel and its closest ally, the United States, refused to participate in the meeting, which Barrot said is being attended by representatives of 125 countries, including 50 Ministers. The aim of the conference, Barrot said, is "to reverse the trend of what is happening in the region — mainly the erasure of the two-state solution, which has been for a long time the only solution that can bring peace and security in the region.' He urged the European Commission to call on Israel to lift a financial blockade on 2 billion euros he says the Israeli government owes the Palestinian Authority, stop settlement building in the West Bank, which threatens the territorial integrity of a future Palestinian state, and end the 'militarized' food delivery system in Gaza by the Israeli-backed US Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has resulted in hundreds of killings. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the two-state solution on both nationalistic and security grounds. Ahead of the meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would recognize Palestine as a state at the annual gathering of world leaders at the UN General Assembly in September. The bold but mostly symbolic move is aimed at adding diplomatic pressure on Israel. France is now the biggest Western power and the only member of the Group of Seven major industrialized nations to recognize the state of Palestine, and the move could pave the way for other countries to do the same. More than 140 countries recognize a Palestinian state, including more than a dozen in Europe. At the conference opening, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa called for all countries who have not yet recognized Palestine as a state to do so 'without delay.' 'The path to peace begins by recognizing the state of Palestine and preserving it from destruction," he said. The other issue being discussed at the conference is normalization between Israel and the Arab states in the region. Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the Saudi foreign minister, stressed that normalization of relations with Israel 'can only come through the establishment of a Palestinian state.' With global anger rising over desperately hungry people in Gaza starting to die from starvation. U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday called for increasing aid to Palestinians, a rare glimpse of daylight between him and Netanyahu, who has said there is no starvation. Both Barrot and Farhan said Monday that the U.S. is an essential actor in the region and that it was the president in January who secured the only ceasefire in the 21-month war. 'I am firmly in the belief that Trump's engagement can be a catalyst for an end to the immediate crisis in Gaza and potentially a resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the long term," Farhan said.
India.com
3 hours ago
- India.com
France denounces US-European Union trade deal, French PM calls it..., Emmanuel Macron...
(Image: President Donald Trump shakes hands with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen in Turnberry. Pic: Reuters) New Delhi: France has criticized Sunday's, July 28 trade deal between US President Donald Trump and European Union (EU) President Ursula von der Leyen. French Prime Minister François Bayrou called it a dark day for the EU. What did France say over US-EU trade deal? François Bayrou said the EU had bowed to President Trump's increasing tariff pressure. He wrote on X: 'It is sad when a coalition of independent countries, formed to protect their common values and interests, buckles under pressure.' At the same time, French Minister of European Affairs Benjamin Haddad said that this situation is not good and the EU should take countermeasures. French Trade Minister Laurent Saint-Martin said, 'Trump only understands the language of power. If we should have taken countermeasures earlier, the deal might have been better.' However, French President Emmanuel Macron has remained silent on the matter. What is the response of Italy and Germany? German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomed the agreement. European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic called it a 'big step' as it averted a trade war between the USA and Europe. Under the agreement, most goods going from Europe to the US will face a 15% tariff, three times the current 4.8%. However, the 30% tariff was avoided after Trump's threat of August 1. How much of Europe's goods will face 15% tariff? According to the details of the agreement, 70% of goods from Europe will be subject to 15% tariff. This includes cars, medicines and electronics. However, some agricultural products such as aircraft parts, some chemicals, semiconductor equipment and cork will not be subject to tariffs. There will be no tariff on drugs yet, and if there is one in the future, it will not be more than 15%. The EU will buy energy worth 750 billion dollars or about 64 lakh crore rupees from America in the next three years. Along with this, the EU will invest 600 billion dollars i.e. 51 lakh crore rupees in America.
