French President Emmanuel Macron announced his interested to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories, as part of a broader Middle East tour, to offer France’s assistance to international efforts in restarting a peace process that would bringing about an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. President Macron emphasized that Paris desires to assist in realizing a two-state solution that he said would provide both Israel and the Palestinians security and peace. Macron said, “We will continue our effort with the U.N. to push for a two-state solution, Israel and Palestine, living next to each-other in security within internationally recognized borders, with Jerusalem’s as the capital for those two states. On this, I wish to go to the Middle East next spring to visit Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories.”
The French President, who met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in July and made an appeal to him for renewed Israeli Palestinian peace talks, noted in his press conference to Paris’ diplomatic corps that France is ready to apply diplomatic levers toward renewed negotiations but gave no specifics. He did not indicate any eagerness for France to spearhead such negotiations, after a failed diplomatic effort by Paris early this year.