Two States, colonies, terrorism... What is France's official position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

“What happened will surely never be forgotten and we will be there, today, tomorrow, and the day after, supporting peace and stability.” Arriving in Tel Aviv this Tuesday, October 24 in the morning, Emmanuel Macron spoke with his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem, assuring him in person of the support he has always given to the Hebrew State since the deadly Hamas raids. . If the French president went to his ally at the wrong time, he will want to convey certain messages: in addition to France's "unambiguous solidarity", the head of state will plead for a "humanitarian truce" and to relaunch a "true peace process,” according to the Élysée. In summary, Emmanuel Macron will recall the fundamentals of the French position vis-à-vis the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“France shares strong historical, cultural and human ties with Israel,” indicates the Quai d’Orsay in a document published in October 2022. In fact, France was one of the first countries to recognize the new State and to establish diplomatic relations with it, through President Vincent Auriol, in 1949. For more than 70 years, “she has defended Israel's right to exist and live in security as well as its full membership in the community of nations sovereign”.

But “France is also the friend of the Palestinians,” underlines the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In this sense, the country wanted to reaffirm the rights of the Palestinian people, for example by voting in favor of recognizing the Palestine Liberation Organization within the UN as an observer member. Or by expressing for the first time, through François Mitterrand in the Knesset in 1982, the objective of creating a Palestinian state. France also installed an ambassador to Palestine and voted in favor of raising the Palestinian flag at the UN in September 2015.

From the “Jewish national home” to recent wars, the long history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in maps

In the global conflict between Israel and Palestine, France calls for “respect for international law” and “promotes a two-state solution”, in accordance with resolution 181 of the United Nations General Assembly. In this perspective, the Élysée indicated on Monday that Emmanuel Macron would call, during his trip to the Hebrew State, for the resumption of a “real peace process” for the creation of a Palestinian state, alongside that of Israel.

With its European partners, France has thus defined several parameters which must govern a resolution of the conflict, and in particular borders based on the lines of June 4, 1967 with agreed exchanges of equivalent territories and an arrangement making Jerusalem the capital of the two States.

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In this context, the establishment of Israeli colonies in the West Bank and East Jerusalem “constitutes an illegal appropriation of land which should be the issue of peace negotiations between the parties”, rules the Quai d'Orsay. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention and several United Nations Security Council resolutions, colonization is in fact considered illegal. In fact, France regularly condemns Israeli colonization policy.

Last March, six European countries including France repeated their opposition to the “progression of colonization” by Israel, in a press release in an unprecedented format. The chancelleries of these countries then condemned “the indiscriminate violence of Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians”, while “firmly condemning the terrorist attacks which caused the death of Israeli citizens”.

Since the start of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, France has been “committed to the stability of the region”, according to the Quai d’Orsay. It can therefore only condemn, “with the greatest firmness”, “all acts of violence and terrorism”. It is in this sense that she has continued to denounce the Hamas terrorist attack, despite the ambiguity of certain political figures, particularly on the side of La France insoumise. And that she recalls being “unfailingly attached to the security of Israel, which remains a cardinal principle of its policy in the region”.

But France also recommends “rigorously respecting the principles of necessity and proportionality in the use of force”. It is for this reason that Emmanuel Macron will plead, during his trip to Israel, in favor of a “humanitarian truce” which “could lead to a ceasefire”, according to the Élysée. But also to “preserve the civilian populations” in the Gaza Strip.