The president of France, Emmanuel MacronI travel to Jerusalem and, after meeting with the Israeli prime minister and the president of the Palestinian Authorityproposed to fight the organization with an international coalition Islamist Hamas. He also denounced “the suffering” of civilians in Gaza.
Macron points out that the coalition, created in 2014 under the leadership of USA to fight the group Islamic State in Syria and Iraq“can also fight Hamas“.
The French government explained that the objective is “to be inspired by the experience of the international coalition against Daesh and see what aspects can be reply against Hamas“. In that sense they detailed: “We are available to reflect, with our partners and Israel, on the appropriate lines of action against Hamas,” they explained.
“The partners and specifically Israel must then express their needs,” they added.
The French president also called on Iran, an ally of Hamasto “do not take the risk of opening new fronts“, and called to relaunch “the political process with the Palestinians.
The president also met with the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbasin the West Bank and assured that “nothing can justify the suffering” of civilians in Gaza. “A Palestinian life is worth a French life, which is worth an Israeli life,” he emphasized. Macronthe first Western leader to visit the headquarters of the Palestinian organization – which does not exercise any power in the Gaza Strip – since the start of the war.
Israel relentlessly bombards the Palestinian enclave, in response to the unprecedented attack by Hamas on October 7 and as a prelude to a probable ground offensive.
Specialists questioned Macron’s initiative
Elie Tenenbaum, director of Security Studies at the French Institute of International Relations, was one of the main specialists in casting doubt on Macron’s proposal. He argued that The international coalition currently includes 86 NATO membersthe European Union and the Arab league and has “at least a façade diplomatic unanimity” in the fight against this jihadist group.
However, among its members – of which Israel is not a part – “many countries do not share France’s position on Hamas at all“, he explained and cited, among others, Lebanon, Taste, Jordan, Libya and Iraq. The “feasibility” of extending the perimeter of action of the international coalition against Hamas seems “highly unlikely,” according to Tenenbaum.
Another of the experts to question the initiative was Renad Mansour, senior researcher at the Chatham House think tank. He considered that the task would be “much more difficult” for a coalition of this type, which could also project the image of being a pro-Israeli structure.
Héloïse Fayetresearcher on middle East at the IFRI Center for Security Studies also raised doubts regarding Macron’s plan and said that “10 days ago, several coalition bases in Iraq and Syria were attacked with the help of drones and rockets“by Shiite groups close to Iran, he noted on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
Extend the coalition to the fight against Hamas “could increase that risk“, he assured and urged Macron to “clarify these statements so as not to generate false hopes or an escalation”.
Source: Ambito
