France thanks the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Volker Türk, and the President of the Palestinian Red Crescent, Dr. Younis al-Khatib, for their briefings which were enlightning.
Our Council has met on several occasions in recent weeks to discuss the fate of the hostages, the situation in Gaza, the colonisation in the West Bank and the protection of humanitarian personnel. The extreme gravity of the situation demands to do so, as the briefers have recalled. But the current situation calls above all for action by the Council, both in the immediate term, to silence the weapons and resume humanitarian aid, but also in the long term: a political horizon must be restored for both the Israelis and the Palestinians.
1/ And to do this, the Israeli offensive must stop.
The President of the Republic said that there will be no military solution in Gaza.
The breakdown of the ceasefire and the resumption of Israeli strikes in Gaza constitute a dramatic step backwards. It is urgent for hostilities to cease and we welcome the mediation efforts made by the United States, Egypt and Qatar.
All hostages must be released, without further delay and with dignity. They have suffered for too long. Hamas must put an end to the inhuman, degrading and humiliating treatment given to the hostages. We stand in solidarity with them in their ordeal, in solidarity with their families. We stand in solidarity with the Israeli people in the face of the terrorist attacks committed by Hamas and other terrorist groups on October 7, 2023, which France will continue to condemn.
2/ In the immediate term also, the blocking of humanitarian aid must end.
As we said on Friday, yesterday, and we say it again today: the protection of humanitarian workers, who have already paid a heavy price in Gaza, must be guaranteed in all circumstances, in accordance with international law.
We condemn the Israeli fires upon ambulances, which killed 15 rescue workers in Gaza. As the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Mr. Jean-Noël Barrot, has said: this is unacceptable ; humanitarian workers should never be targeted. France extends its condolences to the families of the eight Palestinian Red Crescent workers, the six Civil Defense workers and the UNRWA staff members. The full facts of this attack must be established, the fate of the missing person must be clarified.
We must continue to build Gaza’s tomorrow. We reiterate that the future of Gaza must be Palestinian, and we oppose any forced displacement of the population and any form of territorial seizure of. Arab leaders have presented a credible plan for the reconstruction of Gaza, with concrete proposals to guarantee security and establish a new Palestinian government, from which Hamas must be excluded. France, alongside with its European partners, supports this plan and contributes to the discussions on its implementation.
3/ In the West Bank, the prospect of a two-state solution continues to fade day by day.
France reiterates its condemnation of the settlement policy, which is illegal under international law, as well as the violence committed by extremist settlers. It reiterates its opposition to any form of annexation and, in Jerusalem, the status quo on the Holy Sites must be respected.
Finally, Palestinians and Israelis have the right to live in peace and security.
This requires credible security guarantees for Israel and the building of a viable and contiguous Palestinian State. Only the two-state solution will lead to a just and lasting peace, and it is with this conviction that France is preparing together with Saudi Arabia, in New York, in accordance with the decision of the General Assembly, a conference in June on the implementation of this solution.
Now, the urgency is the following : the release of the hostages, the resumption of the ceasefire and an inquiry into the attacks against humanitarian personels, the immediate resumption of the humanitarian aid, and the cessation of the settlement activities. This must be the urgent message of this council.
Thank you.