French, Palestinian leaders call for urgent ceasefire in Gaza
• Macron urges Palestinian Authority ‘reform’ to run Gaza without Hamas
• EU announces 1.6bn euros in new aid for Palestinians
• No breakthrough in Cairo talks to revive defunct ceasefire
RAMALLAH: Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and French President Emmanuel Macron called for an “urgent” ceasefire in Gaza on Monday, with the latter also advocating for the reform of the Palestinian Authority to govern a post-war Gaza without Hamas.
In a phone call, Abbas and Macron “emphasised the urgent need for a ceasefire, the acceleration of humanitarian aid delivery (and) the rejection of the displacement of the Palestinian people from their land,” Wafa news agency reported.
“Both leaders reiterated the necessity of advancing a two-state solution based on international legitimacy”, and for the Palestinian Authority to take responsibility in the Gaza Strip after the war ends, it added.
Macron, following his conversation with Abbas, said on X that “France is fully mobilised for the liberation of all hostages, a return to a durable ceasefire and immediate access for humanitarian aid into Gaza”.
He also advocated “reform” of the Palestinian Authority as part of a plan that would see the Ramallah-based body, which currently has partial administrative control in the occupied West Bank, govern a post-war Gaza without Hamas.
“It is essential to set a framework for the day after: disarm and sideline Hamas, define credible governance and reform the Palestinian Authority,” Macron said.
Nearly 150 countries recognise a Palestinian state, but France would be the most significant European power to do so. Such formal recognition by Paris would mark a major policy switch and risk antagonising Israel, which insists such moves by foreign states are premature.
“President Macron is gravely mistaken in continuing to promote the idea of a Palestinian state in the heart of our land — a state whose sole aspiration is the destruction of Israel,” Israel’s Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned the Israeli prime minister’s criticism of Macron for announcing that Paris intended to recognise a Palestinian state within months.
“The ministry strongly condemns the unjustified attack and offensive remarks made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his son against President Emmanuel Macron,” the Ramallah-based ministry said in a statement.
New EU aid
The European Union on Monday announced a new three-year financial support package for the Palestinians worth up to 1.6 billion euros ($1.8bn).
The fresh aid pledge came just ahead of a meeting between Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Mustafa and EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.
“We are stepping up our support to the Palestinian people. EUR1.6 billion until 2027 will help stabilise the West Bank and Gaza,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas wrote on X.
“This will reinforce the PA’s ability to meet the needs of the Palestinian people in the West Bank and prepare it to return to govern Gaza once conditions allow,” Kallas said.
No breakthrough
The latest round of talks in Cairo to restore the defunct Gaza ceasefire and free Israeli prisoners ended with no apparent breakthrough, Palestinian and Egyptian sources said on Monday.
The sources said Hamas had stuck to its position that any agreement must lead to an end to the war in Gaza.
Israel, which restarted its military campaign in Gaza last month after a ceasefire agreed in January unravelled, has said it will not end the war until Hamas is stamped out. The Palestinian group has ruled out any proposal that calls for it to lay down arms.
But despite that fundamental disagreement, the sources said a Hamas delegation led by the group’s Gaza Chief Khalil Al-Hayya had shown some flexibility over how many prisoners it could free in return for Palestinians held by Israel should a truce be extended.
An Egyptian source told Reuters the latest proposal to extend the truce would see Hamas free an increased number of prisoners.
Hamas has asked for more time to respond to the latest proposal, the Egyptian source said. “Hamas has no problem, but it wants guarantees Israel agrees to begin the talks on the second phase of the ceasefire agreement”, the Egyptian source said.
Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2025