The Emmaus Movement mobilises against the atrocities in Gaza
On 18 June, France will co-chair an international United Nations conference ‘for the peaceful settlement of the Palestinian question and the implementation of the two-state solution’. On this occasion, Emmaus Europe, Emmaus France and Emmaus International co-signed and sent an open letter to the French government.
In this letter, we demand action! France as well as all the countries must take concrete and immediate measures at all levels to stop the massacre.
Subject: France’s measures against the Israeli government and the International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution
Mr President of the Republic,
We welcome the stance France recently took to denounce the atrocities committed by the Israeli government against the Palestinian civilian population. We also commend the message expressed by France during the preparatory meeting for the International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution[1]. These statements are a necessary step to change the political and media situation in the Gaza Strip. There in an urgent need to act swiftly and resolutely.
On 7 October 2023 we were horrified by the unprecedented acts of violence committed by Hamas against Israeli and international civilian populations. The mass killings and hostage taking are crimes, and we have denounced them as such.
The Palestinian population has suffered attacks by the Israeli army for nearly 600 years. The have been countless civilian casualties. As poverty-combatting organisations, it is not up to us to legally qualify the crimes committed against this population, whose history over the last 70 years has been marked by violence and injustice. However, we do not need to be legal experts or historians to see the reality, horror and criminal nature of the acts committed.
Nor do we need to be geopoliticians to state that such crimes are even more unacceptable given that they are committed by a democratic state and long-standing ally of the states who, following World War II, laid down the principles of international law which should forbid committing such crimes. France is one of these countries, and you, Mr President, have a significant responsibility in settling this conflict.
That is why we are writing to you today to call on you, Mr President, to turn your recent condemnations into actions.
We cannot wait another day to take a tougher collective stance against the Israeli government, as you announced it at a recent press conference in Singapore. It is now clear that that Benyamin Netanyahu’s policy will not change and will not provide any sufficient response to the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. Several days ago, he announced the establishment of 22 new Jewish settlements in the West Bank, blatantly disregarding the nearly unanimous condemnation from the international community and legal principles.
France can and must play a role at all levels to ramp up the pressure on the Israeli government and bring this horror to an end. Any additional attack is a crime. Mr President, that is why our three organisations, backed by all the member organisations of the Emmaus Movement, urge you to act:
On the France level:
- Firmly support the ongoing legal proceedings on the war crimes committed in Gaza, working with the International Criminal Court, and implement the rulings of the International Court of Justice;
- Press for an immediate and lasting ceasefire and the immediate delivery of aid managed by the United Nations organisations and the independent NGOs in the Gaza Strip;
On the European Union level: in light of all the human rights violations perpetrated by Israel, and ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union on 23 June and of the European Council of heads of state and government on 26 June:
- Impose an embargo on weapons from all European countries;
- Impose an embargo on all products from Israeli settlements;
- Support full suspension of the EU-Israel agreement.
Internationally: in anticipation of the conference which France will co-chair with Saudi Arabia:
- Recognise the State of Palestine;
- Apply the 18 September 2024 resolution of the United Nations General Assembly.
You stated that recognising the State of Palestine was a political requirement and a moral duty. We must stress the need to proceed unreservedly, since the existence of two sovereign states cannot be the consequence of peace but rather is a necessary condition for it. Establishing actions dependant on an organization like Hamas as preconditions for this recognition places the future of the entire Palestinian people in the hands of this organisation. This would be deeply unjust.
As an international organisation whose 430 members act daily for dignity and social justice, we urge you to act bravely and decisively so that France will not be complicit in a genocide, which today is recognised by independent international organisations and by the United Nations courts.
Carina Aaltonen
President of Emmaüs Europe
Patrick Atohoun
President of Emmaüs International
Bruno Morel
President of Emmaüs France
