Paris
CNN
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France said Paris had received letters from Palestinian authorities, including a “specific and unprecedented commitment” to reform, to co-chair the Conference on the Palestinian State in New York.
The letter said by France was that President Mahmoud Abbas signed the President of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and condemned Israeli leadership on October 7, 2023, Hamas called for all hostages to be released immediately, and according to an excerpt shared with CNN, he pledged to hold elections and reform authority.
“Hamas no longer controls Gaza and must hand over its weapons and military capabilities to Palestinian security forces, which, with Arab and international support, will oversee their removal outside of occupied Palestinian territory,” Elise Palace quoted Abbas as writing.
The letters that France says it has received arise when President Emmanuel Macron focuses on whether he recognizes Palestinian state at next week’s summit. France co-chairs the summit with Saudi Arabia.
CNN contacted the PA for comment. WAFA, the official news agency that often reports on the president’s newsletter, has not mentioned the letter.
France said Abbas has pledged to organize presidential and general elections within a year to “rejuvenate Palestinian governance.”
Abbas, 89, is deeply unpopular among Palestinians. He has led the PA since the death of Palestinian leader Jaser Arafat in 2004, and is still stuck in power despite critics being deemed as lack of democratic legitimacy. The proposals presented by Arab countries for post-war Gaza removed Hamas from governance and called for reform of the PA.
The Guardian reported on Saturday that France may have withdrawn from its plans. The meeting “want to undermine its ambitions and instead agree to a step towards recognition,” the Guardian quoted the diplomat, adding that “French officials describing their Israeli counterparts this week have reassured that the meeting is not a moment of recognition.”
However, an Elisé source told CNN that the French presidency rebutted such reports, and that Paris is moving towards recognizing the Palestinian state.
“We can clearly see that we are interested in suggesting that we are not moving in the direction of awareness. That’s wrong,” the source said Tuesday, adding, “We are determined to recognize the Palestinian state to create the conditions for the existence of the nation.”
Sources emphasized the importance of future meetings at the United Nations.
“Recognizing the Palestinian state is consistent with France’s position in favour of the Palestinians’ legal aspirations,” the source said. “As part of the June 18th meeting, we must contribute meaningfully to the momentum behind the implementation of the two state solutions, based on principles reaffirmed by the President of the Republic.”
France will become the most prominent Western nation to recognize the Palestinian state. Last year, Spain, Ireland and Norway officially recognized the Palestinian state in a move that sparked backlash from Israel.