by JNS Staff
According to a poll by the CRIF umbrella group of Jewish communities, 33% said they were opposed to any recognition "in the short time."
Almost three in four French people oppose French President Emmanuel Macron’s initiative to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations this week.
According to a survey commissioned by the CRIF umbrella organization of French Jewish communities and published on Thursday, only 29% of French people support immediate recognition as promoted by Macron.
Those who were in favor of an immediate recognition only formed the majority among voters of the far-left La France Insoumise Party, the survey found.
Among those who expressed opposition to Macron’s initiative, 38% were in favor of recognizing “Palestine” only after Hamas terrorists release the remaining 48 hostages and surrenders, while 33% said they were opposed to any recognition “in the short time.”
The survey was conducted by France’s Ifop polling agency on Sept. 3-4.
In an interview with Yonit Levi of Israel’s Channel 12 network that aired on Thursday, Macron accused Jerusalem of “completely destroying the image and the credibility of Israel” in the war against Hamas in Gaza.
“We have to recognize a legitimate right of Palestinian people to have a state,” Macron told Levi, while claiming that “recognizing a Palestinian state is just deciding to say: the legitimate perspective of Palestinian people and what they suffer today has nothing to do with Hamas.”
“The recognition of a Palestinian state is the best way to isolate Hamas,” he said, calling the terrorist group’s praise for his move “pure cynicism.”
“I don’t want to let them [have] the monopoly of such a request because this is not true—what they want is to destroy you,” he continued, adding that “there is no way” to build a sustainable future if one says “that the Palestinian state would always have the objective to destroy Israel.”
Macron praised Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas for pledging several reforms in response to the recognition proposal.
On Friday, Macron announced that the P.A. had arrested a key suspect in a deadly antisemitic terrorist attack on a restaurant in Paris in 1982, hailing the “excellent cooperation” with Abbas in a social media post.
Macron and Abbas agreed to secure the extradition of Hicham Harb, 70, who was detained in Judea and Samaria, “as swiftly as possible,” he said.
Harb is suspected of masterminding the Aug. 9, 1982 shooting attack on the Chez Jo Goldenberg eatery in Paris’s historically Jewish Marais district, which left six people dead, including two U.S. citizens.
Harb, who has been the subject of an international arrest warrant for 10 years, led the 1982 shooting on behalf of the Abu Nidal Organization terrorist faction, which was born out of Abbas’s ruling Fatah party.
Macron said on Friday that his government would “ensure” that Abbas’s stated commitment to peace would be upheld after Paris’s recognition.
“This recognition is part of a comprehensive peace plan for the region, aimed at meeting the aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians for security and peace,” the French leader wrote in his post. “France will continue to stand alongside the Palestinian authorities on this path.”
U.S. Ambassador Charles Kushner responded to the interview on Friday by noting that Paris had previously demanded that the P.A. accept Israel as a Jewish state, move to demilitarize Hamas, commit to peace talks and establish “real governance” in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip.
“These were France’s own conditions for recognition of a Palestinian state. How can France move forward with next week’s vote when none of these have been met?” Washington’s envoy in Paris tweeted Friday.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee praised Kushner for “reminding France what they said!” in a response on X.
Meanwhile, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) addressed “France, Senate Democrats or anyone” on X, writing that recognizing “Palestine” is would “reward Hamas for killing and raping over 1200 Israelis, and keeping hostages underground for two years.
“When Hamas is cheering for your decision, you really should reconsider your core values,” the pro-Israel senator tweeted.
Macron has led the initiative together with Saudi Arabia to recognize a Palestinian state during the U.N. meeting in New York this week. Israel and others have stated that such a decision rewards Hamas for Oct. 7.
France’s Interior Ministry has ordered local governments to oppose the display of Palestinian flags on town halls and other public buildings in celebration of the recognition, France’s AFP agency reported Friday.
“The principle of neutrality in public service prohibits such displays,” the Interior Ministry wrote in an order to local prefects, a copy of which was seen by AFP. The warning came after Socialist leader Olivier Faure called for the flag to be flown on town halls on Monday, when Jewish communities also celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.
JNS Staff
Source: https://www.jns.org/nearly-75-of-french-oppose-macron-push-to-recognize-palestine/
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