Emmanuel Macron will receive Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Paris tomorrow, Tuesday, to discuss the “full implementation” of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, the French presidency announced in a press release.
This press release made Mahmoud Abbas the “president of the State of Palestine”, and not the President of the Palestinian Authority, as France had officially recognized the State of Palestine in September at the UN General Assembly. This diplomatic victory, historic for the Palestinian cause, is due in large part to the efforts of the politically weak but omnipresent Abbas, 89, over several decades.
“This meeting is part of France’s continued recognition of the State of Palestine and the efforts made to implement a plan for peace and security for everyone in the Middle East,” said the Élysée.
Next steps for peace and reform of the Palestinian Authority
The two leaders, who arrived hand in hand on October 13 at the peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt), will discuss in Paris “the next stages of the peace plan (between Israel and Hamas, editor’s note, a process that Abbas is trying to influence), especially in the areas of security, governance and reconstruction, in cooperation with Arab and international partners, to prepare for peace.” the day after », Added press release.
US President Donald Trump said last Thursday that international troops would be deployed “immediately” to Gaza, a day after America announced a draft UN Security Council resolution intended to support peace efforts. French President Emmanuel Macron, in a meeting with Mahmoud Abbas, intended to remind of the need for “sustainable access to humanitarian aid to Gaza”. But it also reiterated the need for the Palestinian Authority to carry out reforms.
“The President of the Republic and President Abbas will discuss the issue of reforming the Palestinian Authority, an important condition for the return of stability and the emergence of a viable, democratic and sovereign Palestinian state, living in peace and security with Israel,” added Élysée. No elections have been held in the Palestinian territories for twenty years, which partly explains why Hamas ousted Fatah, the party founded by Yasser Arafat, which is still led by Abbas, from the Gaza Strip government in 2007.
Donald Trump’s peace plan, which allows for a ceasefire from October 9 between Israel and Palestinian Hamas, as well as a Franco-Saudi peace initiative, raise the possibility that the Palestinian Authority, once reformed, will take over governance in Gaza.
