A Journey to Paris for Peace
On 12 June, I boarded a flight in the company of some 60 of the hundreds of Israeli and Palestinian civil society activists who, together with other representatives from the region and international institutions, had been invited to a Paris Peace Forum event under the patronage of French President Emmanuel Macron.
During the wait at the airport, our group, sponsored by the Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP), unsurprisingly fell into discussions related to the conference theme: a call for the implementation of the two-state solution, peace, and regional security.
High Hopes and Rising Tensions
The intention of our hosts was to enable civil society leaders to provide input that would feed into the discussions at the French-Saudi-sponsored summit on recognition of Palestine which was scheduled to take place on 17 June in New York, before the Israel-Iran fighting led to its postponement.
In a meeting prior to our departure, it became abundantly clear that our primary focus was on whether France, the UK, and possibly others would recognise the State of Palestine while in New York or settle for a commitment to pursue “a credible pathway” leading to Palestinian statehood in the future.
We were all well aware that media reports indicated that President Macron may backtrack on recognition as a result of Israeli and U.S. pressure.
For our part, we were determined to stand firm and demand the immediate recognition of the State of Palestine.
Defying Expectations in a Changing Landscape
Once aboard the plane, we took advantage of the periods when the seatbelt sign was off to exchange ideas with different members of the delegation on how to advance our objectives.
At some point, I found myself talking to a former Israeli party leader about various scenarios, and I rather flippantly made a remark about the impact on the conference if Israel were to attack Iran that night.
The response that I received was: "That won’t happen."
Indeed, so it seemed to most experts at the time. President Trump wasn’t on board, and despite Benjamin Netanyahu’s audacity and arrogance, very few believed he would have the chutzpah to go against the wishes of the U.S. president.
The next morning, however, we awoke to the discovery that Bibi’s defiance knows no bounds as we learned that the Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities had begun.
Staying the Course Amid Escalation
It is to the credit of the conference participants that we did not allow the new war (or, rather, the new front in the war that started on 7 October) to divert us from our primary objective of issuing a call for implementation of the two-state solution and for immediate recognition of the State of Palestine.
It is statehood, we asserted, that must be the pathway to negotiations rather than negotiations serving as the pathway to statehood.
All those gathered in the French Economic, Social and Environmental Council building had the political savvy to understand that while the regional circumstances had changed as a result of the Israeli bombings and the Iranian missile barrages, the urgent need to feed the Gazan population, free the hostages, and put an end not only to the Gaza war but to Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territory had not.
Deafening Silence, International Stage
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the international community.
The G7 leaders who gathered in Kananaskis, Canada, treated Gaza like a footnote in their statement on Israel-Iran, in which they urged “that the resolution of the Iranian crisis leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza.”
In an interview to Bloomberg on 14 June, UK Prime Minister Keith Starmer repeated the usual calls for a ceasefire and hostage release. When pressed about future steps, including recognition of Palestine, he said “…obviously now the immediate issue is the Israeli attack overnight,” adding that the two-state solution remains the only path but “it seems further off now than perhaps it’s seemed for some time.”
As for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, only last month he took the unprecedented move of harshly criticising the Israeli army operations in Gaza, saying that he no longer understood the goal and that they could “no longer be justified as a fight against terrorism.
However, the Chancellor did an about-face, after the Israeli attack on Iran, praising Israel for doing “the dirty work” for the West and expressing his “greatest respect for the fact that the Israeli army and the Israeli government had the courage” to take on Iran.
Macron Listens and Responds
Back in Paris, however, President Macron kept his eye on the mark.
After the meetings at the CESE wrapped up, he invited the conference participants to the Elysee, where he delivered an inspiring speech that included acknowledgment of the unique contribution of civil society to peace efforts.
Not only his words but also his tone and demeanor underscored his commitment to a resolution of the conflict based on two-states and his understanding of the urgency.
Macron then surprised us by mingling among the crowd, moving from one guest to the next and attentively listening to our questions and comments before responding at length.
One Voice, One Demand
Even more remarkable, however, was the message conveyed to him by the assembled Israeli and Palestinian peace activists, who had traveled from a region engulfed in suffering only to contend with the added weight of the Iranian missiles flying over the heads of their loved ones back home while the closure of the Israeli airspace left many of them stranded in Paris.
Despite the difficulty, the civil society peacebuilders from both sides of the conflict exhibited solidarity and demonstrated that they are one step ahead of the political decisionmakers by jointly and deafeningly demanding: Recognise Palestine now!
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Read also:
Europe Must Save Middle East Diplomacy From Trump’s Deals
Check Mate: Trump, the Anti-Iran Coalition, and Houthi Aggression
Israel-Palestine: Obstacles to Peace
