At a press conference in Paris together with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Macron says:
Plans for partial or total annexation, legal or de facto, constitute a red line to which we and our European partners will respond forcefully.
He also points out the increasing violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Settler violence and the increasing pace of new settlements are reaching new highs, threatening stability in the West Bank and constituting a violation of international law.
New attacks
Since the Hamas terror attack on October 7, 2023, at least 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli military or settlers, according to Palestinian figures. During the same period, 43 Israelis have been killed in attacks in the West Bank, according to Israel.
In October alone, Israeli settlers carried out at least 264 attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, according to the UN agency Ocha.
On Tuesday, dozens of settlers attacked two villages in the northern West Bank, setting cars on fire, the AP news agency reports. According to Israeli police, four settlers were arrested. Four Palestinians were injured in what police call "extremist violence."
Foundation soon ready
France recognized a Palestinian state in September. Macron said at the UN General Assembly that recognizing a Palestinian state is the only way for Israel to live in peace, and that recognition is a way to defeat the Islamist Hamas.
Abbas committed on Tuesday to previous promises of reforms and that the Palestinians will hold presidential and parliamentary elections when the war is over.
"We are starting to finalize a draft of a provisional constitution and laws on elections and political parties," he said.
