ISTANBUL

Expecting a lasting ceasefire in Gaza without a clear political vision for the enclave’s future is just a pipe dream, France’s foreign minister said Monday.

“It is an illusion to think that a ceasefire can last without a general view of what Gaza is going to be after the war, without a political horizon and an alternative to permanent war,” Jean-Noel Barrot said at a high-level UN conference on Palestine in New York.

Barrot stressed that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict cannot be resolved through military means and reiterated that a two-state solution remains the only viable path to peace.

In a speech that linked France’s historical support for Israel with its growing push for Palestinian statehood, Barrot said: “France acknowledges and recognizes this same right with the Palestinian people, the right to have their own homeland.”

He added that depriving people of the right to self-determination “inevitably leads to resentment, violence and war.”

France, he said, has long supported a two-state solution, citing the positions of past French leaders such as Charles de Gaulle as well as Emmanuel Macron, the current president.

“But we are now at a time where this prospect is in mortal danger,” Barrot warned.

Barrot also criticized the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, attacks by extremist settlers, and the recent Knesset (parliament) vote favoring full annexation of the occupied territory.

“This idea of two states is moving farther and farther away,” he said.

“We cannot resign ourselves to this situation, and we cannot wait any longer," he added.

“France is ready to fully recognize the state of Palestine, and will do so in the month of September,” he reiterated.

“This recognition is both a rejection of the logic of war and an appeal for peace," he added.

He urged other countries to follow suit, warning that delaying recognition until Hamas disarms places the decision in the group’s hands.

Barrot concluded by appealing to Israel to heed international calls, lift the blockade on Gaza, and return to negotiations. “It is in the interest of Israel and Israel’s security,” he said.,

“France is determined to break the spiral of violence in the Middle East,” he added.