Two prominent voices with deep ties to Israel and the Middle East are urging President Emmanuel Macron to back up his announcement that France will recognise Palestinian statehood with concrete action over the crisis in Gaza.
Former Israeli ambassador to France Elie Barnavi and historian Vincent Lemire have called on Macron to impose sanctions on Israel, underlining the “absolute urgency” of such action given the worsening humanitarian crisis.
“Mr President, if immediate sanctions are not imposed on Israel, you will end up recognising a cemetery. We must act now to ensure food and medical aid can reach Gaza at scale,” they wrote, in an opinion piece published in the French newspaper Le Monde on Tuesday.
They argued that only firm and tangible sanctions would influence Israeli public opinion – and, by extension, the country's government – "to end the famine, to achieve a lasting ceasefire, to secure the release of all hostages, to protect Palestinians in the West Bank, to save Israel from itself".
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No excuse for 'inaction'
Barnavi and Lemire also dismissed the idea that a lack of European consensus is a valid excuse for inaction, pointing to the diplomatic momentum created on 24 July when Macron announced France’s intention to recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September – an initiative since supported by the United Kingdom, and Canada among others.
“You have the opportunity to lead a coalition of willing European states. This is a moment for leadership – and for urgency,” they said, going on to highlight the Israeli parliament’s recent vote in favour of annexing the West Bank, which passed by 71 votes to 13.
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The pair also criticised what they see as “double standards” within the European Union, noting that while 18 rounds of sanctions have been imposed on Russia, none have targeted Israel.
Yet, they argue, sanctions on Israel would likely prove “immediately effective” due to the country's geographic and economic vulnerability.
“Mr President, don’t mistake diplomatic fanfare for facts on the ground. Since your announcement on 24 July, the diplomatic landscape may have shifted – but conditions in Gaza remain unchanged,” they warned. “The promise of recognition has never put food on anyone’s plate.”
Barnavi served as Israel’s ambassador to France from 2000 to 2002. Lemire is a professor of history at the University of Paris-Est Gustave-Eiffel and formerly headed the French Research Centre in Jerusalem, from 2019 to August 2023.
