Israel / Palestinian Territories - Q&A (6 November 2022)

Following the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting on November 4, you published the statement issued by the seven member countries. In that statement – both in the preamble and in the 11 points that enumerated the planet’s hot spots and your concerns, you denounced the failure to respect universal human rights and Russia’s failure to respect food and nutrition security in Ukraine. You denounced the destabilizing activities of certain countries and various violations of Security Council resolutions. But the explosive situation in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, where no UN resolution has ever been implemented – this hot spot was missing from the statement. Do the G7 countries, including France, consider the situation in the Occupied Territories to be normal, and not a threat to world peace? If not, how do you explain the failure to mention the Occupied Territories and their inhabitants in the G7’s final statement?

The situation in the Middle East was not on the agenda at this G7 Foreign Ministers meeting. The statement issued in Weissenhaus on May 14 at the end of this year’s first G7 Foreign Ministers meeting reiterated the G7’s position on this issue, and particularly its commitment to the two-state solution, the only solution that is in keeping with the legitimate aspirations of the Israeli and Palestinian people for peace and security.

France is closely monitoring the security situation on the West Bank and in Jerusalem. We publically expressed our deep concern over renewed tensions in the area and issued a joint statement with Germany, Spain and Italy to that effect on October 26.

In light of the risk of escalating violence, France calls on all stakeholders to refrain from any provocations and unilateral actions. The current tensions remind us of the urgent need to resume political efforts to preserve the two-state solution.