Low profile or not, fervent hope rides on Palestine conference by France-Saudi
On Monday, July 28, France’s foreign minister, will formally present in New York, his country’s intention to recognise a Palestinian state. France will become the first G7 country, and the most influential diplomatic voice to make such recognition formal when it does the deed in September.
In the meantime, the end-July conference is worth noting. French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot will lay out a plan for a two-state solution that could, theoretically bring peace. The French-Saudi conference, at the United Nations, will try to “redraw political perspectives”, the minister has said.
The joint initiative was originally meant to be held in June and had to be rescheduled because of Israel and US air strikes on Iran.
Might the French-Saudi conference prove to be more than a talkathon? Much of the world desperately wants that, as is obvious from the photo, taken on an ordinary London street, on an ordinary July afternoon. The woman, who appeared to be Caucasian, had wrapped herself in a scarf patterned on the traditional Palestinian keffiyeh, which suggests a certain level of empathy for Palestinians.
So, a lot of hope is invested in the French-Saudi conference, despite the rather low profile run-up to it. According to Jerome Bonnafont, France’s ambassador to the United Nations, it “aims to give concrete form to the two-state solution through specific measures”.
He says the conference “aims to relaunch a collective dynamic in favor of a political solution that meets Israel’s legitimate security concerns and ensures the contiguity and viability of the Palestinian State in the long term”. This will include normalising relations with Israel, regional integration, the reform of Palestinian governance and the disarmament of Hamas.
France says that there is a chance for peace if they (and the world) sides with Palestinian leaders who have chosen “dialogue and peace” against those, notably Hamas, who have chosen war and terrorism.
There is an immutable logic in that!
