France's Acute Palestinian Dilemma
Turbulent relations between France and Israel are nothing new, but even by those historical standards the crisis caused by President Emmanuel Macron's apparently imminent readiness to recognize a Palestinian state is acute.
The postponement, as a result of fighting between Israel and Iran, of a United Nations conference this week convened to explore the creation of a Palestinian state has deferred any announcement but appears to have redoubled Mr. Macron's resolve. 'Whatever the circumstances, I have stated my determination to recognize a Palestinian state,' Mr. Macron said on Friday. 'That determination is whole.'
'We must reorganize it as soon as we can,' he said of the conference, which he was to chair with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia. French officials close to Mr. Macron say he has told the crown prince of his firm intention to recognize a Palestinian state.
Vilified by Israel as leading 'a crusade against the Jewish state,' and spurned in his peacemaking efforts by the United States, which is implacably opposed to the conference and has urged countries to shun it, Mr. Macron is confronted by a diplomatic predicament that will test his renowned adaptability, viewed by some as wobbliness.
Mr. Macron — outraged, like much of the world, by the almost 56,000 Palestinians killed by Israel in Gaza since the start of the war, and by its near or total blockade of the strip in recent months — has spoken of 'a moral duty and political requirement' to recognize a Palestinian state.
In the absence of Israeli plans for Gaza, and in the face of Israel's bombardment of Iran aimed at destroying its nuclear program, Mr. Macron believes that only a strong political commitment to Palestinian statehood can open the way to a two-state peace, persuade Hamas to lay down its arms and eventually advance regional stability.
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