By Ahmet Gencturk
ATHENS (AA) – France on Tuesday reiterated support both for US President Joe Biden’s proposal for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and a two-state solution for the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian dispute.
In phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, French President Emmanuel Macron called for the end to the war in Gaza and expressed support for Biden’s proposal, his office said in a statement.
“The (Israeli) hostages, including our two compatriots, must finally be returned to their families. The ordeal of the Palestinians in Gaza must end. The massive delivery of humanitarian aid must take place without further obstacles, by all possible routes, including land,” the statement added.
Macron emphasized that the proposal presented last week should reopen a credible perspective for the implementation of the two-state solution.
“Gaza must be an integral part of a future Palestinian state and a reformed and strengthened Palestinian Authority, with the help of the international community, must ensure its governance,” the French leader said.
On the escalating tension between Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Israeli forces along their shared border, the French president expressed concern and urged maximum restraint.
Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 which killed some 1,200 people and took around 250 as hostages.
Besides killing more than 36,000 Palestinians since then, the military campaign has turned much of the enclave of 2.3 million people into ruins, leaving most civilians homeless and at risk of famine.
Biden’s peace plan envisages three stages. The first stage proposes to involve a six-week cease-fire, during which the Israeli army will withdraw from the populated areas of Gaza and hostages would be exchanged for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. This would be followed by negotiations for a permanent end to hostilities and facilitating reconstruction of the enclave.