French President Emmanuel Macron called Monday for "reform” of the Palestinian Authority as part of a plan that would see the West Bank-based body govern a post-war Gaza without Hamas.
France is among European nations to have backed a plan for Gaza to return to the control of the Ramallah-based authority after nearly two decades of Hamas rule.
"It is essential to set a framework for the day after: disarm and sideline Hamas, define credible governance and reform the Palestinian Authority,” Macron said on X after a phone call with his Palestinian counterpart Mahmud Abbas.
"This should allow progress towards a two-state political solution, with a view to the peace conference in June, in the service of peace and security for all.”
Macron said last week that France could take the unprecedented step of recognizing a Palestinian state during a United Nations conference in New York in June, sparking condemnation from Israel.
Hamas has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007, when it seized control from the Palestinian Authority after being blocked from exercising real power despite winning a parliamentary election the previous year.
Both France and the United States under Joe Biden have pressed for the Palestinian Authority, which has limited autonomy in parts of the West Bank, to root out corruption and bring in new faces in the hope it could take charge of Gaza.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas attend a press conference, following their meeting at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah Monday, March 24, 2025.Reuters
The Ramallah-based administration, led by 89-year-old Abbas, has been hamstrung by Israel’s decades-old occupation of the West Bank and the Palestinian president’s own unpopularity.
