PARIS (Reuters) – Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne reiterated on Monday the position of the French government on the conflict between Israel and Hamas, namely the right of the Jewish state to defend itself and the need to protect Palestinian civilians, while Emmanuel Macron is expected in Tel Aviv on Tuesday.
“Israel has the right to defend itself in accordance with international law and those who confuse the right of Palestinians to have a state and the justification of terrorism commit a political and strategic moral error,” the Prime Minister said at the National Assembly during a debate without a vote.
“The Palestinians are not Hamas, Hamas is not the Palestinian people,” she added.
The head of government also accused Hamas of “using civilian populations as a human shield”. “By acting in this way, Hamas is endangering the hopes of peace that the Palestinians so desperately need,” she said.
“We are calling for a humanitarian truce which allows safe and immediate access for the delivery of water, food, fuel and humanitarian and medical aid to Gaza”, under the auspices of the United Nations, continued Elisabeth Borne .
She also spoke of the “dozens of French people stuck in Gaza in extremely precarious conditions” and affirmed that the government was doing everything so that they could leave the area.
Elisabeth Borne also wanted to provide her support and that of her government to the President of the National Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet, who came under criticism after traveling to Israel over the weekend.
Speaking after the Prime Minister, the president of the La France insoumise (LFI) deputies Mathilde Panot called for a “ceasefire”, regretting that France had not made this request.
“Faced with this spiral of violence, France must speak with a strong voice to work for peace and a ceasefire,” said Mathilde Panot. She also accused Israel of not respecting international law.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon subsequently welcomed the MP’s speech on valent. Cease fire! Cease fire!”
Recalling the dissensions within the political class regarding the position of LFI leaders on the conflict, Les Républicains MP Michèle Tabarot said she wanted to denounce “the horrors of Hamas as the entire national representation should have done”.
The Modem deputy Jean-Louis Bourlanges asked that Israel “stop its colonization policy” and the president of the Socialist Party in the Assembly, Boris Vallaud, warned the Israeli troops against “blind revenge” .
(Writing by Kate Entringer, editing by Tangi Salaün)
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