The rebels want to force France to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN

LFI Deputies President Mathilde Panot hopes to pass a resolution in the National Assembly to recognize the Palestinian Territory as a state. A text to this effect was already adopted in 2014, without a concrete follow-up. A majority of the president may be reluctant to support the rebels’ approach.

A vote to try to relieve the pressure. In the Gaza Strip and especially in the south, in Rafah, where more than 1.3 million Palestinians are crowded together, Mathilde Panot urged the government to act.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his army on Wednesday, February 7, to prepare for an invasion of the part of Palestinian territory backed by the closed Egyptian border, prompting the UN to fear a “terrible” possibility.

“I announce to you that our group is presenting a proposal for a resolution calling on the French government to recognize the State of Palestine at the United Nations,” the president of the LFI deputies explained during a press briefing at the National Assembly. Tuesday, February 13.

A resolution has already been passed in 2014

The purpose of the maneuver is highly symbolic: even when voted on, the resolution does not have binding legal consequences. In 2014, the Assembly and Senate had already voted on a resolution inviting the French state to recognize the Palestinian state, without result.

At the time, this text, which was not supported by the right, hoped to generalize the approach in other European countries.

Macron called for a “two-state solution”.

Although Palestine sits in many international organizations and institutions and is recognized as a state by almost all of Asia and Africa, other countries do not support this approach. The United States, Canada, Spain, France, Italy and Finland do not recognize the region as a state.

The approach of France Insoumise maybe supported by the presidential majority? On paper, maybe. At the start of the conflict between Hamas and Gaza, Emmanuel Macron called for “a solution of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security”.

Uncertain support for rebels

This coexistence between two independent states, one Hebrew and the other Palestinian, is at the heart of the Oslo Peace Accords, which were signed in 1993 but never implemented. But the President’s majority may have strong reservations.

Much criticized after the start of the conflict for its position on Hamas, La France Insomize was not welcomed by some of Macron’s heavyweights, such as by some hostage families during a tribute to the French victims at the Invalides on Wednesday 7 February.