“There will be no lasting peace if there is no legitimate recognition of the right of the Palestinian people to have a territory and a State,” he stated in the meeting, which followed the one held at the end of the morning with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

Macron also considered a requirement for the Palestinian side and its authorities to recognize the State of Israel and the importance of its existence and security. Seeking security without pursuing peace is doomed to failure, said the president, who insisted on the value of mutual recognition and resuming the negotiation process.

Resuming dialogue has never been more necessary, because it is the only way to provide hope to the population and ensure that they do not look towards terrorist groups and the most radical ones, he said.

In his meeting with Abbas, the French president expressed condolences for all the victims of the spiral of violence, which he attributed to the Hamas attack on October 7 on Israel, a power that unleashed bombings and a total blockade against the Gaza Strip in reprisal.

France carries a humanist vision, which is simply: “the life of a civilian is worth that of another civilian, regardless of his or her nationality. A Palestinian life is worth an Israeli life, which in turn is worth a French life,” he said.

Macron urged his host to condemn Hamas, which he distanced from the Palestinians, and reiterated his earlier message to Netanyahu to promote an international coalition to combat that organization.

The visitor spoke out in favor of facilitating humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza, but without defending the ceasefire demanded at the meeting by the president of the Palestinian National Authority.

Abbas asked Macron to demand an end to Israeli aggression and support for the two-state solution.

He also highlighted the urgency of immediate international protection for a people subjected in recent days to indiscriminate bombings and a total blockade in the Gaza Strip, one of the most densely populated territories in the world.

In that sense, he denounced that 800 Palestinians were murdered in the last 24 hours alone.

Our people are victims of a savage attack by the Israeli war machine, and we demand a ceasefire, he stated.

According to French sources, Macron plans to meet in the next few hours in the Jordanian capital Amman, with King Abdullah II, and probably with other Arab leaders with a focus on avoiding an escalation of the conflict.

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