Jo-Ann Mort
Emmanuel Macron has become enemy No 1 for the Benjamin 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.
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