“The right answer is not a real estate operation, this is a political operation,” Macron told CNN in an interview.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFFEBRUARY 12, 2025 02:34Updated: FEBRUARY 12, 2025 08:56
French President Emmanuel Macron rejected US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal during an exclusive interview with CNN last week, calling for the “respect” of Palestinians and “their Arab neighbors.”
“You cannot say to 2 million people, ‘Okay, now guess what? You will move,'” Macron said. “The right answer is not a real estate operation. This is a political operation.”
While Macron has maintained France’s support for Israel’s right to defend itself, especially after the October 7 massacres, he has also voiced strong criticism of Israel’s military operations in Gaza and in Lebanon.
France took a major step in October 2024 by suspending arms exports to the IDF and urged other nations to follow suit.
“I always reiterated my disagreement with [Israeli] Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu,” Macron said. “I don’t believe, once again, that such a massive operation targeting sometimes civilian people is the right answer.”
French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should not forget Israel was created by a UN resolution. (credit: THAIER AL-SUDANI/REUTERS/MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST/REUTERS/STEPHANE MAHE)
He also underscored that any effective solution to rebuilding Gaza needs to come at the cost of disrespecting Palestinians and regional sovereignty, highlighting the Gazans not wanting to be relocated and neighboring countries, Jordan and Egypt, not wanting them either.
Trump’s Gaza proposal
Trump proposed the idea of relocating the Gazans to other countries and having the US buy the land and sectioning it off to other Middle Eastern states to help rebuild Gaza.
Trump told reporters on Air Force One while flying to the Super Bowl on Sunday in New Orleans that the “place is a demolition site.
“We will make Gaza into a good site for future development; we will take care of the Palestinians and make sure they are not murdered.”
Trump’s proposal brought a lot of global criticism, not just in the Middle East.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a response statement, “They [Palestinians] must be allowed home, they must be allowed to rebuild, and we should be with them in that rebuild on the way to a two-state solution.”
“Saudi Arabia rejects any attempts to displace the Palestinians from their land. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has affirmed the kingdom’s position in a clear and explicit manner that does not allow for any interpretation under any circumstances.”
Abdelatty discussed with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa the importance of moving forward with recovery projects in Gaza without Palestinians leaving the Gaza Strip.
Russia believes a settlement in the Middle East is only possible on the basis of a two-state solution. “This is the thesis that is enshrined in the relevant UN Security Council resolution; this is the thesis that is shared by the overwhelming majority of countries involved in this problem. We proceed from it, we support it and believe that this is the only possible option.”
Content retrieved from: https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-841739.
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