In response to the Israeli government's plan to annex parts of the Palestinian territory of the West Bank, French parliamentarians of all political stripes launched an appeal, Wednesday July 15, to President Emmanuel Macron in the pages of the newspaper Le Monde.
In a rostrum, they want the head of state to recognize the state of Palestine and demand "international sanctions" for the Israeli government's plan. "Faced with this imminent threat, we call for recognition by the 27 Member States of the European Union of the State of Palestine. Otherwise, this recognition must be able to be done unilaterally by France," said these deputies. and senators.
🤝 We, parliamentarians from several different political groups,
stand together: 👉 To oppose the annexation of the West Bank by Israel
👉 To ask for the recognition of the State of Palestine! 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/jRjqKYgWv8
The Israeli government had set July 1 as the date from which it could decide on the implementation of the American plan for the Middle East, which notably provides for the annexation by Israel of the Jordan Valley and of established Jewish colonies. in the West Bank, a Palestinian territory that the Hebrew state has occupied since 1967.
"We need a strong mobilization in the face of this dangerous project, for the Palestinians, for Israel and for peace in the Middle East", said in a press conference the deputy Hubert Julien-Laferrière (group Ecology democracy solidarity), vice-president from the France-Palestine study group, on the initiative of the text.
"Today, the status quo is no longer possible, the future state of Palestine is becoming a Bantustan [name given to a territory where the inhabitants are victims of discrimination and feel considered as" second citizens class "in their own country, editor's note]. We must, like more than a hundred countries in the world and a dozen European countries, recognize the State of Palestine because colonization is prohibited by international law , even if we are not at the first violations of international law by Israel, "he added.
So that "the State of Israel does not commit the irreparable".
President Emmanuel Macron asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on July 9 to abandon any plans to annex Palestinian territories. Germany and the United Kingdom have also taken an identical position on the subject. But for parliamentarians, we must "keep up the pressure" so that "the State of Israel does not commit the irreparable".
"There was a period when the Palestinian question was mobilizing," said MEP Bruno Joncour, regretting the current "indifference". "For several decades, everyone has been talking about the recognition of two states and recognizes only one," deplored the president of the France-Palestine study group.
Senator Gilbert Roger, president of the France-Palestine friendship group of the Senate, indicated that the Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian had assured them that "France would not accept all or part of a small colonization" .
With AFP
The France 24 week summary invites you to come back to the news that marked the week
I subscribeTake international news everywhere with you! Download the France 24 app
google-play-badge_FR