French Movement on Israel Palestine Conflict

France has strong historical cultural and demographical relations with Israel. France was one of the first countries to recognize Israel and they established diplomatic relations with them in 1949. For more than 70 years France has been advocating the rights of Israel to exist and live in security, and for its full membership of community for sovereign nations. 

The bilateral relationship between France and Israel is also supported by the presence in Israel, of a large French and French-speaking community, and France is the hub of Europe where the largest Jewish community prevailed. 

France is also a friend of the Palestine state and supports the establishment of a Palestinian state, living within safe and recognized borders alongside Israel, with Jerusalem as the capital of both nations. 

In 1974 France voted in favour of recognizing Palestine at the United Nations as an observer country. 

French-Palestine Relations

In 1982 Francois Mitterrand was the first French President to express the objective of creating a Palestinian state. In 2010, France raised the status of the general delegation of Palestine in France which became the embassy of Palestine and is led by an ambassador. 

In November 2012, it voted in the favour of status of the non-member observer state at the united nations and in September 2015 for the establishment of the Palestinian flag at the UN. 
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on 14TH May 2021 about the escalating conflict between Israel and Palestinians and called for a return to peace in the region. 

Emmanuel Macron condemned attacks by Hamas the terrorist group and said Israel had the right to defend itself. He also expressed concern about the killing of civilians in Gaza. Macron called for negotiations between the two states. 

France has called for a UN Security Council resolution on the violence, as the international pressure for a ceasefire intensifies. The conflict among Middle East countries has distributed the stand of the United Nation, between France and the United States, the first tension between the two friends since Joe Biden occupied the throne of the United States of America. 

Despite guaranteed opposition from the United States, France proposed a draft UN Security Council resolution, calling for an end to hostilities between Israel and Palestine as well as humanitarian access to the Gaza strip. 

The US has continuously vetoed resolutions in recent days by making an opinion that it is for pursuing other avenues to solve the crises. In a call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on 17th May 2021, Biden expressed support for a ceasefire between Israel and the militant group of Hamas, that rules Gaza. 

French Proposal

But France, in a proposal, stated on 18th May 2021, in coordination with Egypt and Jordan, to quickly demand a firm response from the United States, signalling it would use its veto power in the United Nations again if needed. 

Their spokesperson at the United Nations stated that France is focused on intensive diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the violence and that France will not support actions that France believes to be against de-escalation. 

France, which is heavily engaged politically and militarily in the region, has been campaigning for years for financial, logistical, and operational support from the United Nations to aid the force's 5000 under-equipped soldiers from Niger, Chad, Mauritania, Mali and Burkina Faso.

On 15th May 2021 police in Paris, fired teargas and aimed water cannons at protestors defying a ban on marching against Israeli attacks on Gaza, trying to disperse demonstrators gathering in groups of several hundred. 

Many people took part in authorized protests in other French cities including Lyon and Marseille, which took place peacefully. These echoed with the marches elsewhere around the world from Sydney to Madrid, amid days of conflict between Israel and militants of Gaza.

Conclusion

These days France is facing tussles in both internal and external fields. Internally it is facing the disputes of its people against the attack on Gaza which are being held peacefully by following all the rules of democracy to establish a general movement of peace in the dispute-affected areas. 

And from the outside, it is facing international pressure of not establishing a coordinative negotiation between Palestine and Israel. The movement which is going on in France is growing stronger and stronger which creates pressure on the French administration to take a stance in the favour of Palestinians and condemn the aggressive actions of Israel. 

But France is bound to neutralize the dispute because it needs to establish peace with the support of both parties. But because of the internal pressure of its general public, it is bound to create a diplomatic statement. 

The protests held by the general public are based on the cruelty faced by people of the Gaza strip and France is doing nothing for that. So, by accepting the emotions of French protestors, France has put forward a resolution in the United Nations, even against the pressure of The United States of America.

Written by - Aditya Pandey
Edited by - Piyush Pandey