France shares “the real trauma” of the Israelis but considers the situation in Gaza “unjustifiable”, announces Stéphane Séjourné

Europe 1 with AFP // credits: JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP 7:48 p.m., February 10, 2024

The head of French diplomacy, who visited the Middle East a week ago, underlines in the daily

that France shares "the real trauma" of the Israelis but that it considers the situation "unjustifiable". Gaza. “We must understand that after October 7, Israeli society is no longer the same. Long-term. I only fully appreciated it by being there,” confides Stéphane Séjourné in this interview published on Saturday, estimating that “his duty” is to understand that “the trauma of the Israelis is real”.

“And it also means that the situation in Gaza is unjustifiable,” underlines the minister. “The humanitarian situation in Gaza today is catastrophic, and unacceptable in reality,” he added, while the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip lack everything. France has been urging a lasting ceasefire for weeks. Like his predecessor Catherine Colonna, Stéphane Séjourné also spoke during his trip of settler violence in the West Bank, "which has nothing to do with the situation in Gaza" and which must stop.

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also questioned Stéphane Séjourné on the possibility, as mentioned by the British Minister of Foreign Affairs, of recognizing the Palestinian state, which could constitute a lever in the discussion of the two-state solution. “There are no taboos on this point,” he said. “What matters is that this state comes into being and therefore that the conditions are met for it, including the security conditions for Israel,” he nevertheless stressed.

The war was sparked on October 7 when Hamas commandos, infiltrated from the Gaza Strip, carried out an attack in southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to a count. from AFP based on official Israeli data. Around 250 people were kidnapped that day and forcibly taken to Gaza. According to Israel, 132 hostages are still held there, of whom 29 are believed to have died. In retaliation, Israel launched an offensive which left more than 28,064 dead in the Palestinian territory, the vast majority of women, children and adolescents, according to the latest report by the Hamas Ministry of Health.