French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna has asserted Israel has no right to determine the future of Gaza, which she regards as Palestinian land, emphasizing the need to return to the principle of international law.
In a statement to CNN, the French minister described recent remarks by Israeli politicians and officials about forcing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to emigrate as irresponsible. She affirmed that France supports the two-state solution as the only viable option to resolve the conflict in the Middle East.
Colonna clarified that Gaza is Palestinian territory and should be part of a future Palestinian state. She emphasized France's support for the two-state solution and voiced her country's commitment to avoiding any new escalation of the situation by any party, including neighboring areas such as Lebanon and the Red Sea.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir have openly called for the relocation of Gaza residents, the reoccupation of the sector, and the establishment of settlements within it. Ben-Gvir recently advocated for the return of settlers to Gaza after the war and the emigration of Palestinian residents to countries willing to host them as refugees.
The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation reported Smotrich's claim that "over 70% of the Israeli public supports a humanitarian solution to encourage the voluntary emigration of Gaza Arabs and their absorption into other countries." He also stated that "Israeli society will not accept the continuation of this situation in Gaza; we are required to rethink and cooperate with our friends in the international community."
These remarks from Smotrich and Ben-Gvir follow an announcement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a few weeks earlier, stating he is working on "voluntary emigration" for Gaza residents and seeking host countries for them, following a proposal to resettle Gaza's population to the Egyptian Sinai region.
Additionally, Israel's Channel 12 reported that Tel Aviv intends to appoint Tony Blair as a mediator between it and Western countries to convince them to accept Palestinian refugees from Gaza after the war.
Since October 7, the Israeli military has waged a devastating war on Gaza, resulting in over 22,000 deaths and nearly 58,000 injuries, the majority of whom are children and women. The war has also caused massive destruction to infrastructure and an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, according to Palestinian official and UN sources.
