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Emmanuel Macron has become enemy No 1 for the Netanyahu government. That’s because the French president aims to create momentum for a Palestinian state beside Israel encompassing the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) and the Gaza Strip, reviving what is fast becoming an out-of-reach possibility – a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians.
That’s why Macron has earned the fury of an increasingly unhinged Israeli prime minister. France is expected to co-chair an organizing conference at the United Nations in New York in mid-June, taking advantage of heads of state already in North America for the Canadian-based G7 summit a few days earlier. He hopes this conference will include the all-important Saudi Arabia and other Arab states.
Right now, it’s anyone’s guess whether the Saudis show up, as they calculate whether there is enough maneuverability on the Palestinian issue for them to expose themselves. I hope they show up – either at the foreign ministry level or, dramatically, with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman himself as co-chair, as Macron initially envisioned. The reality is that with a far-right Israeli government and prime minister in the clutches of its most extreme elements, it’s urgently important for world leaders who want to maintain a two-state option to turn up and shout out. There is no more important figure right now for Macron to have by his side than Prince Mohammed, who could also help influence a US president who presently appears to have no consistent diplomatic strategy for Israel-Palestine.
When an organizing group of Arab states that included the Saudi foreign minister tried to meet with the Palestinian Authority leadership in what has essentially become their city-state of Ramallah about a week ago, the Netanyahu government refused them entry in a rather unprecedented move. For the Saudis, showing up by Macron’s side would be an impactful response. It’s time to call Netanyahu’s bluff, go above his head and speak directly to the Israeli people. Macron should do the same.
In decades past, negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians were behind the scenes, out of media range. But now, after decades of an established peace process that has collapsed, it’s time to be bold, and visibly to engage global power to change the situation on the ground.
Macron, by promoting a Palestinian state and placing himself in the lead on the world stage on this – especially as the US has lost global leadership under Trump – walks a path that previous French governments have pursued. Indeed, Michel Rocard, who was prime minister during the Mitterand presidency decades ago, was particularly involved in behind-the-scenes negotiations. Today, Macron has broad support at home – including from political factions on the left – for this effort.
Meanwhile, the Israeli government is going full force against Macron. The foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, has accused Macron of being on an anti-Israel “crusade”. It’s an unprecedented attack not only on an Israeli ally, but on the country that is home to the largest population of Jews on the European continent. Later, the Israeli defense minister and even the prime minister chimed in to attack Macron in an ugly and dangerous manner.
And as the conference approaches, proposals for the hoped-for outcome appear to be lessening, according to news reports. Le Monde’s news coverage claims that Macron appears to be weakening what began as a bold stance.
But Macron and others – especially the Saudis – must not be dissuaded. Europe (and the newest honorary European country, Canada, as Prime Minister Mark Carney seeks global alliances in the Trump era) must be fierce and insistent. Macron must lead the charge within the EU to take bold economic measures against specific Israeli policies that are increasingly slamming the door on a Palestinian state.
The EU is Israel’s largest trading partner, covering 32% of Israel’s total trade in goods with the world in 2024. About 29% of Israel’s exports went to the EU that year. The EU must use its muscle. Israel’s announcement of 22 new settlements in the West Bank is the latest salvo – sanctions must be quick and fierce against all these efforts and against West Bank settler leaders and businesses.
This should include sanctions against any business, cultural and educational forums in settlements or cities outside of the internationally recognized Green Line, the ostensible border between Israel and a future Palestinian state. Time and again, the world must make a distinction that the Netanyahu government refuses to make between Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
There is a reason that the Israeli cabinet passed this new, bold settlement plan. They know that their days in government are numbered. It’s up to the EU and their allies now to ensure every possible economic constraint is aimed at halting the massive settlement growth. And sanctions must be slapped and slapped again on the perpetrators among the Hilltop Youth and other fanatical settler operatives who are threatening and endangering Palestinian lives and livelihoods across the West Bank.
But simply forcing the Israeli government’s hand economically isn’t enough. Netanyahu and his ministers including Sa’ar and the defense minister, Israel Katz, who have no public constituency inside Israel outside of Netanyahu’s grasp, will continue to whine and curse Macron and other world leaders in a bid to convince the Israeli public that the world is against them – as Netanyahu has long argued without context.
There is another way. Embrace most Israelis, who are desperate to escape the poison of Netanyahu and a vision that has forced Israel into what seems like an endless war. It’s urgent for the world to promote a positive future for the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, too. Bono, that well-known statesman, said it best when he recently spoke during an awards event at London’s Grosvenor House, when he encouraged Israelis to release the country from Netanyahu.
He said, so eloquently: “Peace creates possibilities in the most intractable situations. Lord knows there’s a few of them out there right now. Hamas: release the hostages. Stop the war. Israel, be released from Benjamin Netanyahu and far-right fundamentalists that twist your sacred texts. All of you protect our aid workers, they are the best of us.”
Every day now, the Israeli media is full of speculation on when the Netanyahu government will fall, leading to new elections that are 99.5% certain to mean a government led by someone other than Netanyahu, and with his two hard-right allies, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, out of office. It will likely be a center-right-left government, based on consistent weekly polling for months now that shows a coalition government comprising parties from these three tendencies. But it will be a government that wants to engage with the world in a rational manner.
So, while the prospect of a Palestinian state is not immediate, the world community must ensure now that the hope for such a state does not continue to dissipate with facts on the ground. The horror of the war in Gaza must end. The remaining Israeli hostages must be returned home – their lives already made expendable not only by Hamas but also by Netanyahu and his profoundly cynical politics.
Hamas can only be marginalized with a Palestinian political horizon. This is Macron and his European allies’ immediate mission. They need to take measures as bold as possible to make this happen. Not symbolic declarations, but serious moves. Lay the groundwork for a post-Netanyahu and post-Hamas world.
