Macron rejects Israeli plans for Gaza 'safe zones', urges ceasefire
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In his address, Macron called the proposals a very bad idea that cannot guarantee the safety of those in Gaza.
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French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a meeting with Western and Arab nations at the Elysee Palace in Paris on November 9, 2023. (AP)
The world has to work on a humanitarian ceasefire as the only means of preserving life in the region, according to French President Emmanuel Macron, who criticized Israeli proposals to force residents into alleged "safe zones" in the southern part of Gaza.
In his address at the humanitarian conference held in Paris, Macron called the proposals a very bad idea that cannot guarantee the safety of those in Gaza.
Nonetheless, attendees did express during the meeting support for a maritime humanitarian corridor connecting southern Gaza with Cyprus.
Macron aimed to consolidate some of the various national efforts that different countries have taken up to aid the people in Gaza and to step up the calls for a humanitarian ceasefire that the UN Security Council failed to support because of political divisions in New York and that the United States and "Israel" have repeatedly rejected.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh attended the summit, which "Israel" was not invited to, and urged the global community to cease supporting "Israel", noting that “this war was not against Hamas but against all Palestinian people."
Shtayyeh also urged the international community not to endorse the Israeli plan to forcibly displace the people of Gaza to the south.
Macron said he would personally convey the takeaway from the conference to Israeli officials.
Martin Griffiths, the head of the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, said, “War, indeed, is a virus that always wants to expand. The current conflict is a wildfire that would consume the region, that could spread, and that we will think these have been the good days when we see what may happen tomorrow.”
He called the proposed "safe zones" unacceptable, detailing that they had not been discussed with the UN.
He also called the amount of aid reaching Gaza a "crumb", emphasizing that the current 100 daily trucks should be increased fivefold and become a permanent and reliable supply.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, declared her support for the proposal for a one-way marine humanitarian corridor made by Nikos Christodoulides, the president of Cyprus.
On November 3, three diplomatic sources announced that in an effort to coordinate relief efforts for the beleaguered Palestinian enclave, France is scheduled to hold an international humanitarian meeting for the civilian population in Gaza on November 9.
Even though Paris proclaimed its support for its beloved "Israel" after October 7, it seems it cannot ignore the humanitarian concerns that come amid the Israeli occupation's relentless bombing campaign of the besieged strip.
French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters in Brittany that the conference is scheduled to be at head of state, government, and foreign minister level.
