MOSHE PHILLIPS (AFSI) -- French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement in April that France will recognize a Palestinian state by June is deeply disappointing. This decision reflects a troubling inconsistency in Europe’s approach to Israel — one that is both morally and strategically flawed.
Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza is a direct response to the horrific October 7 attacks by Hamas. The goal is clear: to eliminate Hamas’s capacity to launch terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and to secure the release of hostages. Over 1,700 Israelis have been killed since that day.
France, as a member of the European Union, officially designated Hamas as a terrorist organization in 2003. That makes Macron’s current stance all the more baffling.
What will arise from the so-called "Palestinian Authority" is not a democratic state but a PLO-dominated regime steeped in terror — regardless of whether Mahmoud Abbas or any other PLO figure holds the title of chairman, president, or prime minister. A Palestinian state, under current conditions, poses a danger not only to Israel but to regional and global security. A Palestinian state is unsafe at any size and under any leadership be it PLO or Hamas.