Amid the maelstrom of indignation around Donald Trump’s proposal to “take over” Gaza, French President Emmanuel Macron has called for “respect” for Palestinians and their Arab neighbors, batting away the US president’s idea of a mass displacement of Gazans from their homeland.
“The right answer is not a real estate operation, this is a political operation,” he said.
While France has been forthright in its support for Israel’s right to defend itself after Hamas’ October 7, 2023, massacre, Macron has not shied from publicly decrying Israel’s policies and conduct in its military operations in Gaza and Lebanon.
France suspended arms exports to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in October 2024, calling on other nations to follow suit.
“I always reiterated my disagreement with (Israeli) Prime Minister Netanyahu,” Macron said. “I don’t believe, once again, that such a massive operation targeting sometimes civilian people is the right answer.”
Macron said any “efficient” response to rebuilding Gaza “doesn’t mean automatically that you should lack respect to people or countries,” highlighting the wishes of Palestinians to remain on their homelands and the unwillingness of both Jordan and Egypt to accept large numbers of Gazan refugees.
The provocative proposal lofted by Trump outlined a plan to remove Palestinians from Gaza to neighboring Egypt and Jordan, with the US taking “long-term ownership” of the enclave.
Trump stirred up storms of criticism for bigging up Gaza’s real estate potential, suggesting he could redevelop it into a “Middle Eastern Riviera.”
It’s not the first time those in Trump’s orbit floated that idea. Last year, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who served as a senior adviser to Trump in his first term, suggested “cleaning up” Gaza by booting out civilians to unlock the “very valuable” waterfront potential of the territory.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu backed Trump’s “remarkable idea” during a visit to the US last week. In recent months Israel has seen a wave of far-right settler groups planning and advocating for the redevelopment of Gaza, calling for Arab people to leave and to re-establish Jewish settlements.
Any such land grab from the Palestinians would be illegal under international law, and likely to spark further global condemnation.
Already, like France, the international community has come out vocally against Trump’s plans.
The United Nations was robust, its secretary-general warning Trump against “ethnic cleansing.” Spain’s foreign minister told radio station RNE that “Gazans’ land is Gaza.” In Western Europe, only Dutch far-right figurehead Geert Wilders broke ranks to endorse the plan. “Let Palestinians move to Jordan. Gaza-problem solved!” he wrote on X.
German President Walter Steinmeier said the suggestion was “unacceptable,” and the country’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, said it would “lead to new suffering and new hatred.”
But some allies have tried to play both sides, keeping Trump happy while trying to uphold longheld norms over Palestinian rights. “On the issue of Gaza, Donald Trump is right,” UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy told reporters in Ukraine this week. “Looking at those scenes, Palestinians who have been horrendously displaced over so many months of war, it is clear that Gaza is lying in rubble.”
Lammy went on to add: “We have always been clear in our view that we must see two states and we must see Palestinians able to live and prosper in their homelands in Gaza.” His boss, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, also stressed that Palestinians must be allowed back to their homes in Gaza.
France has been full-throated in shooting down plans to displace Palestinians, with the government’s spokesperson describing such a move as a “destabilizing question in the Middle East.”
