France could recognise Palestinian state ‘in June’: Macron
By AFP
April 9, 2025
Palestinians walk past tents lining the streets in a largely destroyed part of Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip - Copyright AFP/File JOHN THYS
Valérie LEROUX
France plans to recognise a Palestinian state within months and could make the move at a UN conference in New York in June on settling the Israel-Palestinian conflict, President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview broadcast Wednesday.
“We must move towards recognition, and we will do so in the coming months,” Macron, who this week visited Egypt, told France 5 television.
“Our aim is to chair this conference with Saudi Arabia in June, where we could finalise this movement of mutual recognition by several parties,” he added.
“I will do it because I believe that at some point it will be right and because I also want to participate in a collective dynamic, which must also allow all those who defend Palestine to recognise Israel in turn, which many of them do not do,” he added.
Macron said the recognition should take place in the next months
– Copyright POOL/AFP Ian Vogler
Such recognition would allow France “to be clear in our fight against those who deny Israel’s right to exist — which is the case with Iran — and to commit ourselves to collective security in the region,” he added.
France has long championed a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, including after the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militants Hamas on Israel.
But formal recognition by Paris of a Palestinian state would mark a major policy switch and risk antagonising Israel which insists such moves by foreign states are premature.
– ‘No one will invest a cent’ –
France’s recognition of Palestinian statehood “would be a step in the right direction in line with safeguarding the rights of the Palestinian people and the two state solution,” Palestinian minister of state for foreign affairs Varsen Aghabekian Shahin told AFP.
Nearly 150 countries recognise a Palestinian state. In May 2024, Ireland, Norway and Spain announced recognition, followed by Slovenia in June, in moves partly fuelled by condemnation of Israel’s bombing of Gaza that followed the October 7 attacks.
But France would be the most significant European power to recognise a Palestinian state, a move the United States has also long resisted.
In Egypt, Macron held summit talks with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II and also made clear he was strongly opposed to any displacement or annexation in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
US President Donald Trump has suggested turning Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East” with the Palestinians moving elsewhere — a suggestion that has sparked bitter condemnation.
Macron responded that the Gaza Strip was “not a real estate project.”
“Simplistic thinking sometimes doesn’t help,” he added, and, in a message to Trump said: “Perhaps it would be wonderful if one day it developed in an extraordinary way, but our responsibility is to save lives, restore peace, and negotiate a political framework.”
“If all this doesn’t exist, no one will invest. Today, no one will invest a cent in Gaza,” he said.
Indonesia president says ready to temporarily shelter Gazans
By AFP
April 8, 2025
Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto says he is prepared to grant temporary shelter to Palestinians affected by the war in Gaza - Copyright AFP Yasuyoshi CHIBA
Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto on Wednesday said he was prepared to grant temporary shelter to Palestinians affected by the war in Gaza between the Israeli military and the territory’s rulers Hamas.
Nearly 400,000 Gaza residents have been displaced in the weeks since Israel resumed military operations in the territory last month, according to the United Nations.
“We are ready to receive wounded victims,” Prabowo said before leaving for a Middle East visit to the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan.
“We are ready to send planes to transport them. We estimate the numbers may be 1,000 for the first wave.”
Wounded Palestinians and “traumatised, orphaned children” would be prioritised, he said.
He said he had instructed his foreign minister to talk with Palestinian officials and “parties in the region” on how to evacuate wounded or orphaned Gazans.
The victims would only be in Indonesia until they recovered and it was safe for their return.
Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, has consistently called for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
According to Turkish media, Prabowo will be afforded the rare opportunity to address the Turkish parliament.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is one of the main backers of the Palestinian cause and visited Indonesia in February, where the pair pledged closer ties.
Such recognition would allow France “to be clear in our fight against those who deny Israel’s right to exist — which is the case with Iran — and to commit ourselves to collective security in the region,” he added.
France has long championed a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, including after the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militants Hamas on Israel.
But formal recognition by Paris of a Palestinian state would mark a major policy switch and risk antagonising Israel which insists such moves by foreign states are premature.
– ‘No one will invest a cent’ –
France’s recognition of Palestinian statehood “would be a step in the right direction in line with safeguarding the rights of the Palestinian people and the two state solution,” Palestinian minister of state for foreign affairs Varsen Aghabekian Shahin told AFP.
Nearly 150 countries recognise a Palestinian state. In May 2024, Ireland, Norway and Spain announced recognition, followed by Slovenia in June, in moves partly fuelled by condemnation of Israel’s bombing of Gaza that followed the October 7 attacks.
But France would be the most significant European power to recognise a Palestinian state, a move the United States has also long resisted.
In Egypt, Macron held summit talks with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II and also made clear he was strongly opposed to any displacement or annexation in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
US President Donald Trump has suggested turning Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East” with the Palestinians moving elsewhere — a suggestion that has sparked bitter condemnation.
Macron responded that the Gaza Strip was “not a real estate project.”
“Simplistic thinking sometimes doesn’t help,” he added, and, in a message to Trump said: “Perhaps it would be wonderful if one day it developed in an extraordinary way, but our responsibility is to save lives, restore peace, and negotiate a political framework.”
“If all this doesn’t exist, no one will invest. Today, no one will invest a cent in Gaza,” he said.
Indonesia president says ready to temporarily shelter Gazans
By AFP
April 8, 2025
Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto says he is prepared to grant temporary shelter to Palestinians affected by the war in Gaza - Copyright AFP Yasuyoshi CHIBA
Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto on Wednesday said he was prepared to grant temporary shelter to Palestinians affected by the war in Gaza between the Israeli military and the territory’s rulers Hamas.
Nearly 400,000 Gaza residents have been displaced in the weeks since Israel resumed military operations in the territory last month, according to the United Nations.
“We are ready to receive wounded victims,” Prabowo said before leaving for a Middle East visit to the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan.
“We are ready to send planes to transport them. We estimate the numbers may be 1,000 for the first wave.”
Wounded Palestinians and “traumatised, orphaned children” would be prioritised, he said.
He said he had instructed his foreign minister to talk with Palestinian officials and “parties in the region” on how to evacuate wounded or orphaned Gazans.
The victims would only be in Indonesia until they recovered and it was safe for their return.
Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, has consistently called for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
According to Turkish media, Prabowo will be afforded the rare opportunity to address the Turkish parliament.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is one of the main backers of the Palestinian cause and visited Indonesia in February, where the pair pledged closer ties.
UN chief says Gaza transformed into ‘killing field’
By AFP
April 8, 2025
Pointing to the Geneva Conventions governing treatment of people in war, he emphasized the obligation of the 'occupying power' to ensure the provision of food and medical supplies - Copyright AFP/File Bashar TALEB
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday that Gaza had become “a killing field,” blaming Israel for blocking aid and failing in its “unequivocal obligations” to meet the needs of the Palestinian territory’s residents.
“More than an entire month has passed without a drop of aid into Gaza. No food. No fuel. No medicine. No commercial supplies. As aid has dried up, the floodgates of horror have re-opened,” Guterres said in remarks to journalists.
Pointing to the Geneva Conventions governing treatment of people in war, he emphasized the obligation of the “occupying power” to ensure the provision of food and medical supplies to the population.
“None of that is happening today. No humanitarian supplies can enter Gaza,” he said.
“The Israeli authorities newly proposed ‘authorization mechanisms’ for aid delivery risk further controlling and callously limiting aid down to the last calorie and grain of flour,” Guterres told reporters at UN headquarters in New York.
He was referencing recent Israeli proposals over controlling aid into Gaza, which a UN source told AFP included monitoring calories to prevent misuse by Hamas.
“Let me be clear — we will not participate in any arrangement that does not fully respect the humanitarian principles — humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality,” he said, demanding guarantees for the unhindered entry of aid to the coastal territory.
Guterres also raised the alarm about the situation in the West Bank.
“The current path is a dead end — totally intolerable in the eyes of international law and history,” he said.
“And the risk of the occupied West Bank transforming into another Gaza makes it even worse.
“It is time to end the dehumanization, protect civilians, release the hostages, ensure lifesaving aid, and renew the ceasefire.”
By AFP
April 8, 2025
Pointing to the Geneva Conventions governing treatment of people in war, he emphasized the obligation of the 'occupying power' to ensure the provision of food and medical supplies - Copyright AFP/File Bashar TALEB
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday that Gaza had become “a killing field,” blaming Israel for blocking aid and failing in its “unequivocal obligations” to meet the needs of the Palestinian territory’s residents.
“More than an entire month has passed without a drop of aid into Gaza. No food. No fuel. No medicine. No commercial supplies. As aid has dried up, the floodgates of horror have re-opened,” Guterres said in remarks to journalists.
Pointing to the Geneva Conventions governing treatment of people in war, he emphasized the obligation of the “occupying power” to ensure the provision of food and medical supplies to the population.
“None of that is happening today. No humanitarian supplies can enter Gaza,” he said.
“The Israeli authorities newly proposed ‘authorization mechanisms’ for aid delivery risk further controlling and callously limiting aid down to the last calorie and grain of flour,” Guterres told reporters at UN headquarters in New York.
He was referencing recent Israeli proposals over controlling aid into Gaza, which a UN source told AFP included monitoring calories to prevent misuse by Hamas.
“Let me be clear — we will not participate in any arrangement that does not fully respect the humanitarian principles — humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality,” he said, demanding guarantees for the unhindered entry of aid to the coastal territory.
Guterres also raised the alarm about the situation in the West Bank.
“The current path is a dead end — totally intolerable in the eyes of international law and history,” he said.
“And the risk of the occupied West Bank transforming into another Gaza makes it even worse.
“It is time to end the dehumanization, protect civilians, release the hostages, ensure lifesaving aid, and renew the ceasefire.”
Settlement champion Huckabee confirmed as US Israel envoy
CHRISTIAN ZIONIST WANTING THE RAPTURE
By AFP
April 9, 2025
Mike Huckabee has served as governor of Arkansas and ran for president in 2008 - Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File Kevin Dietsch
The US Senate on Wednesday confirmed Mike Huckabee, an evangelical Christian who has said Israel enjoys a divine right to the West Bank, as ambassador to Israel.
Huckabee will head to the US embassy in Jerusalem as Israel seizes large areas of Gaza, part of a renewed military campaign that has had President Donald Trump’s blessing.
The Senate voted largely on party lines to confirm Trump’s nominee, with one Democrat, John Fetterman, supporting him.
Huckabee, a Baptist minister who served as governor of Arkansas and ran for president in 2008, has long been an outspoken supporter of Israel, backing calls to annex the West Bank before such talk became increasingly mainstream.
On a 2017 visit to a settlement in the West Bank, which was seized by Israel in the 1967 war, Huckabee said there was “no such thing as an occupation.”
He later said that Israel “has title deed to Judea and Samaria,” using a biblical term for the West Bank.
Grilled about his remarks at his confirmation hearing by Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, Huckabee denied that he was backing the expulsion of Palestinians.
“I’ve never, never indicated that that was a part of that. I simply referenced the biblical mandate that goes all the way back to the time of Abraham, 3,500 years ago,” Huckabee said.
Huckabee in his hearing repeatedly said that he would defer to Trump and not set policy based on his personal beliefs.
Trump before taking office backed a ceasefire in the Gaza war, which started with the unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, but he also vowed full-fledged support to Israel including expediting arms shipments.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expanded settlements in the West Bank, which are considered illegal under international law, but stopped short of a formal annexation backed by some of his far-right supporters.
Huckabee has also been a television talk-show host and plays guitar in a classic-rock cover band.
His daughter, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, served as Trump’s press secretary in his first term and now serves as governor of Arkansas.
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