French President Emmanuel Macron has said that they are ready to respond if Israel imposes sanctions on France over its recognition of the state of Palestine.
"If it were to happen, we would respond; we would be ready. We are ready for everything. But I believe that in this moment, we must choose a path of peace and a path of friendship," Macron told broadcaster BFM TV on Tuesday.
On US President Donald Trump's statements on wanting peace and his push for a Nobel Peace Prize for resolving conflicts, Macron said pointedly: "The Nobel Peace Prize is only possible if you stop this conflict. And so pressure must be put on the Israeli government to stop the conflict in Gaza.”
All that is needed is "political will,” he said.
Asked about possible Israeli sanctions on France over its recent recognition of the state of Palestine, he said France has planned for "every possible option".
"If the war also continues in Gaza City, if the armies continue today to push forward and kill civilians, we cannot remain passive," Macron also said, underlining that US pressure on Israel would also be "key."
Perpetual war
Macron stressed that Tel Aviv "no longer" has a plan and that it "condemns" its people to live in "perpetual war" if Israel's project is to destroy its neighbour.
"Faced with this situation, there is one person who can do something: the American president. And why can he do more than we can? Because we do not supply weapons that allow the war in Gaza. We do not provide equipment to wage war in Gaza. The United States of America does," he added.
"I believe that the mobilisation we have launched helps to increase pressure on Israel and also on Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government. But it also helps to show all Israelis that this is a peace project, that we want to do it with them," Macron said.
Luxembourg, Belgium, Andorra, France, Malta, Monaco, and San Marino recognised the state of Palestine on Monday during a high-level summit in New York ahead of the UN General Assembly.
The move came a day after Britain, Canada, Australia, and Portugal announced recognition, raising the total number of countries recognising Palestine to 159 out of 193 UN member states since late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat proclaimed the state in 1988.
