France calls on EU to push Israel toward two-state deal

France on Monday called on the European Union to pressure Israel to agree to a two-state solution with the Palestinians.

“The European Commission, on behalf of the EU, has to express its expectations and show the means that we can incentivise the Israeli government to hear this appeal,” he said.

The latest comment from the French comes as they seek an end to the deadly Gaza war days after pledging to recognise Palestine as a state.

French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, said that while there is international consensus that it is time for a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, world powers need to back up their words with actions.

He was speaking on the first day of a high-level United Nations meeting on a two-state solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which France is co-chairing with Saudi Arabia.

He urged the European Commission to call on Israel to lift a financial blockade on 2 billion euros he says the Israeli government owes the Palestinian Authority.

Barrot also said Israel must stop building settlements in the occupied West Bank, which threatens the territorial integrity of a future Palestinian state.

He reiterated France’s intention to recognise the State of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in September.

“With this decision, France reaffirms the Palestinian people's right to self-determination, faced with the reality on the ground, the humanitarian catastrophe that is plunging an entire people into despair, and the existential threat,” he said.

Barrot said only a political, two-state solution will help respond to the legitimate aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security.

With global anger rising over desperately hungry people in Gaza starting to die from starvation, US President Donald Trump on Monday acknowledged that there is “real starvation” in Gaza.

His comment was a rare diversion from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who claims there is no such thing.

Both Barrot and the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, said Monday that the US is an essential actor in the region.

“I am firmly in the belief that Trump’s engagement can be a catalyst for an end to the immediate crisis in Gaza and potentially a resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the long term," Farhan said.

Israel and the US refused to participate in the UN conference.