After meeting with Netanyahu, the French Minister declared that "Israeli Settler Violence Against Palestinians Must Stop."
When Stephane Sejourne visited with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he informed him that Palestinians cannot be forcibly removed from Gaza or the West Bank.
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Following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne declared on Monday that Israeli "settler violence must stop" against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
During a visit to the Middle East intended to broker a ceasefire between Israel and the militant organization Hamas in Gaza, Sejourne declared, "Under no circumstances can there be forced displacement of Palestinians, neither out of Gaza nor out of the West Bank."
The French minister blasted Israeli officials' use of anti-Palestinian language and "even calls to commit war crimes," following reports that certain allies of Netanyahu might have supported the return of Jews to the Gaza Strip following the conflict.
Sejourne demanded backing for President Mahmud Abbas's Palestinian Authority, which is centered in the West Bank.
"We must support the Palestinian Authority in order to prepare for this future, as the future of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are inextricably linked," Sejourne declared.
He continued, "It needs to revitalize and reposition itself as quickly as feasible in the Gaza Strip, where Hamas took control in 2007."
During his first visit to the area since taking office in January, the top French diplomat reiterated, "I repeat: Gaza is Palestinian land."
In 2007, Gaza forces loyal to the Palestinian Authority—which enjoys limited autonomy in some areas of the West Bank—were driven out by the militant Palestinian party Hamas.
Although Israel withdrew its military and settlers from Gaza in 2005, there are still over 490,000 Israelis residing in settlements that are illegal according to international law on the West Bank, home to about three million Palestinians.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah, at least 381 Palestinians have died at the hands of Israeli military and settlers in the West Bank since the October 7 incident that started the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
2023 has been designated the "most violent" year on record for settler attacks by the Israeli rights group Yesh Din.
Sejourne demanded that the peace process begin "without delay" and called for "a comprehensive political solution, with two states living in peace side by side."
It has been over ten years since serious peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
Sejourne declared, "There will be no just and lasting peace in the Middle East without a political solution."
Sejourne visited Abbas and Riyad al-Maliki, the Palestinian equivalent, later on Monday in Ramallah.
Following the meetings, Sejourne declared, "I reiterated... the (French) demand of a durable ceasefire (in Gaza) for humanitarian reasons," adding that "the questions of the hostages"—among them three French nationals—remain "a priority for diplomatic action" by France.
