France’s President Emmanuel Macron has called for a harder attitude of Europeans against Israel if the situation in the Gaza Strip does not improve. This means “imposing sanctions,” said Macron in Singapore on Friday. “And yes, we have to tighten our position because this is necessary today, but I still have hope that the Israeli government will change its attitude and that we will finally find a humanitarian solution,” said the French president. Macron also advocated that the EU “hires procedures that require compliance with human rights”, as this is “not the case today”. The majority of the EU countries had decided a week and a half ago to check their cooperation agreement with Israel because of the situation in the Gaza Strip. They referred to Israel’s weeks of blockade of aid deliveries to the Palestinian area. Article two of the Agreement between the EU and Israel states that relationships between the contracting parties are based on respect for human rights and democratic principles. In mid-June, France, together with Saudi Arabia, leads an international conference on the two-state solution. This provides for the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. Without saying whether France would recognize a Palestinian state, Macron said on Friday that the “creation of a Palestinian state” under conditions “was not just a moral duty, but a political necessity”. As conditions, Macron called the release of the hostages captured by Hamas, the “demilitarization” of the Islamist Palestine organization and its “non -participation” the government of the state. In addition, there must be a “reform” of the Palestinian autonomy authority, the recognition of Israel and “his right to life in security” and the “creation of a security architecture in the entire region”.
