President Macron Wants To Rescue the Two-State Solution

“The two-state-solution is on life support,” a United Nations envoy, Sigrid Kaag, warns. Is it? The only place where that “solution” is alive is at the world body. The few Palestinian Arabs who once believed in an independent state living peacefully next to Israel have long given up. After the October 7 massacre almost no Israeli still advocates it. So who could resuscitate this sleepy dream? Permettons de présenter Monsieur Macron.The French president is planning a global mid-June gathering of two-staters to promote recognition of a Palestinian state. His co-sponsor is Saudi Arabia, which has long vowed no progress in normalizing relations with Israel unless there’s progress on Palestinian statehood. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is committed to an ever-elusive Arab solidarity, even as he harbors no sympathy for Ramallah. What, though, is France’s excuse?The Gaza “humanitarian blockade is creating a situation that is untenable on the ground,” Mr. Macron said today while visiting Singapore. “And so, if there is no response that meets the humanitarian situation in the coming hours and days, obviously, we will have to toughen our collective position.” As Israel’s foreign ministry writes on X, though, saying there’s a humanitarian blockade in Gaza is but a “crusade” against the Jewish state. Jerusalem notes that 900 hundred aid trucks entered Gaza this week, even as hundreds of them are yet to be picked up by the UN. Also, working to separate Hamas from UN-run operations, the American-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund has in its first four days handed out two million meals and tens of thousands aid packages. Despite Hamas’s attempts to undermine the Gaza Humanitarian Fund and Turtle Bay’s bickering, Gazans are getting fed. Then again, too, what is Mr. Macron’s solution for what he nevertheless insists is a “blockade”? In his Singapore remarks he suggested sanctioning “settlers.” Since there are no Jewish communities in Gaza, and as no one seriously claims West Bank Arabs are blockaded, he must refer to Israelis who live in Judea and Samaria. Those settlers are widely seen in Europe as the largest stumbling block for, you guessed it, a two-state solution. As Mr. Macron’s top challenger, Marine Le Pen, said back in March, “recognizing a Palestinian state today is validating Hamas.” Conversely she said today, “Sanctioning Israel would be a mistake. Hamas started this war with a terrorist attack of unprecedented violence. They are still holding hostages. This conflict will end when they are freed. Diplomacy, not posturing, is the only useful path.” Is Madame Le Pen less astute than her president? Mr. Macron may be seeking foreign policy achievements in the face of rising public disapproval of his domestic policies. Aspiring to Europe’s leadership, he might hope to ride a Continent-wide souring on the Gaza war. Perhaps he’s vying to compete with President Trump over Saudi trade deals. He also never has liked Prime Minister Netanyahu. Regardless, his posturing is ill-timed: Hamas today rejected the latest proposal for a Gaza cease-fire deal.CNN is reporting that the French press has erased from its coverage the famous slap in the face that Madame Macron inflicted on her presidential husband when they landed at Hanoi. We will not as cavalierly forget Mr. Macron’s latest baiting — his claim to redeem the bed-ridden two-state “solution.” His strategy will reward the October 7 aggressors who launched a war. The nightmare of a sovereign Hamastan now will only exacerbate future turmoil.

President Macron Wants To Rescue the Two-State Solution

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