French FM urges 'lasting' ceasefire, holds 'Israel' accountable

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Le Monde
2 Mar 2024 22:37

The French Foreign Minister has conducted a thorough interview detailing his country's stance on the Israeli war on Gaza.

French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne arrives for a state dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron and Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, on February 27, 2024. (AP)

The humanitarian situation in Gaza is creating indefensible and unjustifiable situations for which the Israelis are accountable, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne stated on Saturday.

French newspaper Le Monde conducted an interview with Sejourne, who answered key questions on the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and the war in Ukraine.

Sejourne stressed that "France must be on the right side of history" when it comes to the war in Ukraine and called for an "urgent" and "lasting" ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The Minister said that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip has been "catastrophic" for the past few months, adding that "Israel" is creating "indefensible and unjustifiable situations" in the besieged territory which it has "to answer" to.

According to the top diplomat, French authorities urged Israeli authorities to "increase the number of crossing points (into the Gaza Strip) and humanitarian trucks," however, these calls "have gone unanswered."

"The responsibility for blocking this aid clearly lies with Israelis," he told Le Monde.

France cannot escape double standards practice

Despite the fact that Israeli occupation forces killed more than 30,000 Palestinians, the majority of which are women and children, Sejourne insisted on "Israel's right to defend itself," but he did say that France has to be "clear about the abuses in Gaza."

Claiming that he wants to put an end "to the idea of double standards," which the West is accused of, Sejourne refused to title Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip as acts of genocide against the Palestinian people. He said that such a judgment is up to the International Court of Justice to decide.

Further highlighting the shakiness of France's humanitarian stance, the French Foreign Minister did admit that "Israel" did not abide by the orders of the ICJ's latest orders, which include taking all possible action to prevent genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Discussing a possible Israeli invasion into the small city of Rafah, which hosts more than 1.4 million Palestinians, Sejourne said, "Today, we're at an impasse on Rafah, and a military operation of the kind the Israelis have in mind would be a new humanitarian disaster; we're doing everything we can to avoid it."

Committed to UNRWA's role

He also admitted that France did not receive any proof of Israeli allegations accusing staff of the UN refugee agency (UNRWA) of involvement in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.

"The Israelis need to understand that the UNRWA doesn't just affect Gaza, but also the countries that are sheltering Palestinian refugees, such as Jordan," Sejourne stated, adding that "given the catastrophic situation on site, there would be nothing to be gained from the UNRWA's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip."

Moreover, the top diplomat hailed the United States for its supposed "irreproachable diplomatic force," despite the fact that he criticized UNRWA donor countries that stopped sending payments to the agency, an act led by Washington in February following the ICJ's orders against "Israel".

Sejourne calls for lasting ceasefire

"In several weeks or months, we'll be able to propose a political solution, and not just a security one. The American electoral context has been weighing on the situation, and the Israeli government's inflexibility is no doubt also linked to these American events," Sejourne explained.

The Minister said that if a ceasefire is to be reached, it "must be lasting" and should not only take effect during a period for exchanging prisoners between the two sides.

It is worth noting that Paris has hosted multiple meetings of mediators and Israeli, American, Egyptian, and Qatari intelligence officers on multiple occasions, attempting to craft a deal for a prisoner exchange and a ceasefire, which the Israeli side has deliberately obstructed by ignoring calls for a lasting ceasefire.