France 'determined' to recognise Palestinian state: foreign minister

PARIS: France is “determined” to recognise a Palestinian state, its foreign minister said on Tuesday, condemning Israel for the “indefensible” situation in Gaza created by its military campaign and humanitarian blockade.

Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot also reaffirmed that Paris backed a Netherlands-led initiative for a review of the cooperation agreement between the European Union and Israel, which could affect political and economic ties.

President Emmanuel Macron has left open the possibility that France could become the latest European nation to recognise a Palestinian state at a UN conference in June.

“We cannot leave the children of Gaza a legacy of violence and hatred. So all this must stop, and that’s why we are determined to recognise a Palestinian state,” Barrot told France Inter radio.

“And I am actively working towards this, because we want to contribute to a political solution in the interest of the Palestinians but also for the security of Israel,” he added.

Barrot was speaking after Macron joined British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in a rare joint statement that angered Israel.

The statement said that “we will not stand by,” threatened “further concrete actions” if Israel continued to block aid, and said that “We are committed to recognising a Palestinian state.”

Pressed over what these actions could entail, Barrot again urged the EU to agree to the Dutch request to review the association agreement between Israel and the bloc and, in particular, examine if Israel was violating the accord’s commitments on human rights.

He said this raises “the possibility of an eventual suspension” of an accord, which has political as well as commercial dimensions.

“Neither Israel or the EU have an interest in ending that accord,” he added.

Barrot said Netanyahu’s limited amount of humanitarian aid announcement after more than two and a half months of a complete blockade of the Palestinian territory, was “totally insufficient”.

The situation in Gaza is “indefensible because blind violence and the blocking of humanitarian aid by the Israeli government have turned Gaza into a death trap if not a cemetery.”

In a warning to Israel, he added: “When you sow violence you harvest violence.”

Gaza’s health ministry said Monday at least 3,340 people in the Palestinian territory have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 53,486.