French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said the European Union is having “tough discussions” with Israel to help speed humanitarian and financial aid to Palestinians in war-ravaged Gaza.
The Israeli government has made “first commitments that have not been fulfilled yet,” Barrot said on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday. “We expect the Israeli government to stop the operations of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation that has caused a bloodbath in humanitarian help distribution lines in Gaza.”
Barrot was referring to the US-backed foundation that Israel set up after sidelining the United Nations relief network in Gaza. The operation has been dogged by allegations, including by the UN, that Palestinian aid seekers have been shot and killed near distribution points — incidents for which the agency and Israel deny responsibility.
Tensions rose after President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that France would recognize a Palestinian state in September. That triggered a backlash from the US and Israel, which argues its offensive in Gaza is necessary to topple and disarm the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which the US and the European Union have designated a terrorist organization.
On Sunday, the Israeli army suspended some military operations against Hamas to facilitate the movement of UN relief convoys into Gaza, and restored electricity to a desalination plant for the first time since March.
Macron’s move complements President Donald Trump’s strategy for the region, Barrot said. He argued that recognizing Palestinian statehood will create the conditions for ending hostilities, releasing Israeli hostages and bringing Arab countries to call for the disarmament of Hamas.
French and Saudi officials are expected to lead a conference to discuss Palestinian statehood in New York this week, he said.
France and the EU expect the Israeli government “to pay the €2 billion they owe to the Palestinian Authority and to lift the financial blockage that is now preventing the Palestinian Authority to implement its most basic missions,” Barrot said.
He also called on Israel to abandon its latest plan to establish additional 3,400 housing units in the West Bank, saying it would split the occupied Palestinian territory in two and prevent the emergence of a viable Palestinian state.
France would be the first Group of Seven country to recognize Palestine as a state. Other Western countries that recognize Palestine include Spain, Ireland and Norway.
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