French President Emmanuel Macron defended the two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians from the podium of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, saying it was unacceptable to “stand by and watch this scene that shames us all” in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
اضافة اعلان
In his final address to the General Assembly as president of France, Macron asked, “Where is our credibility if we remain inactive in the face of Gaza?” He said the establishment of a two-state solution provides a guarantee of “security today and tomorrow for Israel as a state and its people.”
“Look at what is happening in the West Bank, where violations occur every day. On what grounds? Hamas did not carry out attacks in the West Bank. What is happening there is undermining, day after day, the prospects of guaranteeing the Palestinian people’s legitimate right to exist,” Macron said.
In his address, Macron also called for renewed commitment to international law and the UN system in the face of what he described as a return to the “law of the jungle.”
“The question before us, put in very simple terms, is whether we want to live in this primitive state — a return to the law of the jungle — or in a civilized international community,” he said. “My message is to stand firm and not surrender to the developments underway … or to a discourse of defeat that paves the way for the abuse of power by empires that threaten the sovereignty of states.”
Macron, one of Ukraine’s prominent supporters, renewed his call for Moscow and Kyiv to reach an agreement to halt attacks targeting civilians and energy infrastructure.
“We have witnessed the destruction of civilian infrastructure and violations of human rights. This is a new era of barbaric acts,” he said.
On artificial intelligence, the French president proposed an alternative model for developing the technology, calling for the creation of an advanced open-source model independent of the dominance of major powers.
“I do not want anyone to become dependent on one of the major powers. Instead, we must join forces to build a leading, advanced open-source model,” Macron said.
In an apparent reference to the United States and China, he added: “We must pool our investment capabilities to build an advanced open-source model that we can all share. We should not depend on others.”
Source: Agence France-Presse (AFP)
The UN’s 81st General Assembly is currently holding its high-level week in New York, with world leaders addressing major international issues.
