French President Emmanuel Macron warned Israel on Saturday that the objective of “total destruction of Hamas” must be “specified”, because it risked generating “ten years” of war, thus calling for “redoubled efforts”. efforts to achieve a lasting ceasefire. “The total destruction of Hamas”, “does anyone think that is possible?”, launched the head of state during a press conference on the sidelines of COP28 in Dubai.
“If that is (the objective), the war will last ten years,” he continued, asking that “this objective be clarified” by “the Israeli authorities”, also raising the specter of a “endless war”.
“The right fight against terrorism is not bombing”
While Israel is shelling the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the bloody Hamas attack on October 7, “the good fight against terrorism is not systematic and permanent bombardment”, said Emmanuel Macron, expressing his “concern ” after the truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement in power in Gaza expired on Friday. “The right response against a terrorist group is not to eliminate an entire territory or to bomb the entirety of civilian capabilities,” the French president insisted.
Emmanuel Macron affirmed that it was about Israel’s “sustainable security”, which could not be guaranteed if it “comes at the cost of Palestinian lives, and therefore the resentment of all public opinion in the region”. In this perspective, he called for “redoubled efforts to achieve a lasting ceasefire, to obtain the release of all the hostages still held by Hamas and to provide the population of Gaza with the aid they need.” urgently needed.”
The “legitimate right of the Palestinian people to have a state”
The French head of state also pleaded to “give Israel the certainty that its security is restored while responding to the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians, by achieving the political purpose which is the promise of the two States.” “When we have a security approach where political despair fuels all the resentments, we do not build our own security in the long term,” warned Emmanuel Macron, arguing for the “legitimate right of the Palestinian people to have a state”.
Regarding the release of the hostages still held by Hamas, he said “we need several days of work”, referring to “an ongoing negotiation which continues”, while four French nationals are considered hostages or missing since October 7 . To this end, the French president must make a stopover in Qatar on Saturday evening for a dinner with Sheikh Tamim ben Hamad Al-Thani, the emir of this country at the heart of the negotiations for the truce and the release of hostages.