In the past 20 months, more than 55,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip and nearly 950 in the occupied West Bank. International law specialist Monique Chemillier-Gendreau says Israel’s retaliation for the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks is part of a wider plan to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state. Western governments, she says, are letting Israel act with impunity.
RFI: Your book Making a Palestinian State Impossible: Israel's Objective Since its Creation begins in the late 19th century, when the Zionist movement was gaining ground in Europe. You write that the Western world “sacrificed” the Palestinian people. What do you mean by that?
Monique Chemillier-Gendreau: The Zionist project to create a state for Jews on Palestinian land was welcomed in certain circles and in certain Western countries. This led to the Balfour Declaration in 1917, the first official step in support of the project. The British foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour, declared on behalf of the government that it would support Jewish immigration to Palestine, thereby compromising the future of the Palestinian people.
The move was all the more unusual given that Great Britain had no claim to Palestine at the time, and therefore was claiming control over a territory over which it had no authority. In 1917, Palestine was still under the control of the Ottoman Empire. But the British were anxious to share the territories that were under Ottoman control with the other victors in the First World War, which was still ongoing at the time, and to get their hands on Palestine.
The League of Nations mandate over Palestine was granted to Great Britain, which included the Balfour Declaration in its terms. This led to a policy of encouraging Jewish immigration to Palestine – which is at the root of the problem.
The "sacrifice" required of the Palestinian people became even clearer when the United Nations General Assembly voted on the Partition Resolution in 1947, and the Palestinians had more than half their territory amputated. Attempts were made to impose this on them without offering them any compensation or guarantees of safety in the reduced territory that was left to them.
And it was clear that Israel's territorial claims would not be limited to the part of Mandatory Palestine allocated to it by Resolution 181 of the UN General Assembly in 1947.
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RFI: In 1948 the UN took charge of the "Israeli-Palestinian issue", but from the outset it appeared powerless to respond to Israel's failures to comply with the UN's clauses, principles and resolutions. Given this longstanding non-compliance, why has Israel never faced sanctions or exclusion from the United Nations?
MCG: The impotence of the United Nations is one dimension of the Palestinian problem. Israel has never respected the UN Charter, UN resolutions or the major international conventions.
In fact, as soon as Israel applied for membership of the UN, the organisation – having already noted the violations of the Charter by the new state – asked its representatives to solemnly undertake to respect the provisions of the Charter, which they did... only to persist immediately afterwards in failing to respect their commitments.
And yet there have never been any sanctions against Israel by the UN, let alone any plans to exclude it. This can be explained by the unwavering support given to Israel by the United States, and by the complicity of many European countries in this support.
But in so doing, these countries are precipitating the profound crisis of the UN and the devaluation of international law that is under way. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is emblematic of this crisis. The UN, dominated by the five permanent members of the Security Council – China, France, Russia, the UK and the US – and paralysed by their divisions, is no longer in a position to maintain the peace that was its main function.
RFI: The Six-Day War in 1967 resulted in Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. How did this affect the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state?
MCG: The Six-Day War led to the Israeli military occupation of the entire Palestinian territory. Between the departure of the British in 1947 and Israel's military occupation of Palestine in 1967, the Palestinian territory had been administered by Jordan in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and by Egypt in Gaza. The rights of the Palestinians were "frozen" – but preserved.
Since 1967 and its military occupation, Israel has had complete freedom to methodically develop a project that had been less apparent until then, of very systematic policies to obstruct the possibility of creating a Palestinian State.
When the International Court of Justice was asked in July 2024 to give an advisory opinion on Israel's policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, it concluded that the occupation, by virtue of its indefinite duration, was illegal and that it was a de facto annexation.
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RFI: You argue that the basic elements of Palestinian statehood – such as territory, population and a government – have been systematically undermined. Despite recognition by 147 countries, why do you think the situation has not changed?
MCG: In effect, Palestine is now a state, since it declared itself as such in 1988, has been recognised by many other states and has been recognised as such by the United Nations General Assembly (although it has decided not to admit it as a member of the UN). But it is only a potential state. It lacks the possibility of becoming a real state because of the Israeli military occupation and the fact that the representatives of the Palestinian Authority have none of the sovereign functions that characterise a state.
RFI: When Yitzhak Rabin signed the Oslo Accords in 1993, many saw it as a step toward peace. Do you believe he sincerely supported the creation of a Palestinian state, or do you see him as part of a wider pattern among Israeli leaders who have not backed Palestinian statehood?
MCG: No one today can speculate on Rabin's sincerity in 1993. But the facts are clear. It was the hardliners of the Zionist movement who gained the upper hand, and none of the elements of statehood were consolidated for the Palestinians following the Oslo Accords.
These negotiations, which took place in several stages, raised high hopes among Palestinians, who believed that a dynamic process would be set in motion and that the Palestinian Authority, authorised to establish itself in the West Bank (whereas until then Palestinian political representatives had been in exile), would be the embryo of a future state. Today, the truth is becoming clear, particularly with the resolution passed by the Knesset [the Israeli parliament] in 2024 never to recognise a Palestinian state.
Given the situation today – including the expansion of Israeli settlements and the division of Palestinian territories – do you think it is still possible for a Palestinian state to emerge? Or is it already too late?
RFI: In your book, you argue that Israel has always opposed the creation of a Palestinian state, and that the land available today is no longer viable. Given that the Palestinian people have also been scattered since 1948, do you believe a Palestinian state with all its necessary components could still take shape? Or is it already too late?
MCG: It is never too late. In July 2024, the International Court of Justice – and, in September of the same year, the UN General Assembly – clearly stated what measures needed to be taken to restore the possibility of a Palestinian state. These are the dismantling of Israeli settlements, the return of Palestinians in exile, and compensation for all the damage done to them.
These measures must now be enforced through sanctions decided upon by the international community. This is only impossible because there is no political will on the part of the international community. This lack of political will is at the root of the problem's deterioration.
Contrary to what was mistakenly believed before 7 October, 2023, the Palestinian question will not disappear by being silenced. The Palestinian people, who have shown their resilience on many occasions, will never abandon their just national claim.
RFI: You note in your book that Israel treats the Palestinian flag as a security threat. Why do you think a symbol of national identity like a flag is perceived as dangerous by Israeli authorities?
MCG: This example shows how Israel fears any symbol of a Palestinian state. And the arguments of security and anti-Semitism are used by Israel to mask its denial of Palestinian rights. The right to have a flag is perfectly legitimate for a people who were recognised as a state by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012.
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RFI: Recently two legal complaints have been filed in France – one by a grandmother over the deaths of her two grandchildren in Gaza, and another targeting Franco-Israeli nationals accused of blocking humanitarian aid. These are unprecedented cases. Do you think they could mark the beginning of a shift in holding Israel legally accountable?
MCG: These complaints are essential in order to try to put an end to Israel's impunity. But they are not yet sufficient to achieve what needs to be done to end this. However, it is true that they could represent a glimmer of hope.
Regardless of these legal proceedings, there have been some changes – albeit minimal, but unprecedented – in political positions. The mobilisation of public opinion, despite the repression suffered by pro-Palestinian activists in France and the US, is a factor that could prove decisive.
RFI: As a legal expert, do you believe that Western governments which arm and support Israel could be held responsible for complicity in war crimes or even genocide, in light of what is happening in Gaza?
MCG: Through this support, the West is complicit in all the crimes committed by Israel. The issue of arms and military equipment deliveries is central. The war crimes are proven and massive, and the intensity of the war in Gaza, the methods used, the endless displacement and the famine are part of a genocidal policy.
Justice is slow to be served, but the time will come when Israel and all those who have supported it in its criminal enterprise will be held to account. It is unacceptable that countries are not ceasing their cooperation with Israel and imposing sanctions or measures that would penalise this criminal state.
Arab states too bear their share of responsibility. Behind their apparent support for the Palestinian cause lies a total lack of political will. They have the weapon of oil in their hands, and its use would be decisive.
This interview has been adapted from the original version in French, and lightly edited for clarity.
