‘Catastrophic suffering’ – French, Arab leaders demand ceasefire, ignore hostages April 9, 2024French President Emmanuel Macron (AP/Ludovic Marin)(AP/Ludovic Marin)‘Catastrophic suffering’ – French, Arab leaders demand ceasefire, ignore hostagesThe open letter did not demand the release of the Israeli hostages, nor did it condemn Hamas.By World Israel News StaffThe leaders of France, Egypt, and Jordan called for an immediate end to the ongoing fighting in the Gaza Strip in a statement that condemned Israel but failed to mention Hamas or the kidnapped Israelis still held hostage by the terror group.The open letter, which was published in the Washington Post and Le Monde, was signed by French President Emmanuel Macron, Jordanian King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.The three heads of state asserted that “only a two-state solution will bring peace to the Middle East,” while failing to insist that the Hamas terror group be ousted from power.An independent Palestinian state is “the only credible path to guaranteeing peace and security for all and ensuring that neither the Palestinians nor the Israelis ever have to relive the horrors that have befallen them since the October 7 attacks,” the statement continued, equating the Hamas massacres with Israel’s ongoing war against the terror group.“The war in Gaza and the catastrophic humanitarian suffering it is causing must end now. Violence, terror, and war cannot bring peace to the Middle East. The two-state solution will,” the letter reads, failing to condemn Hamas for executing the unprecedented massacres that initiated the war. ”The statement also urged the international community to continue financially supporting UNRWA, glossing over the fact that dozens of the UN agency’s employees participated in the Hamas onslaught.One UNRWA employee even used an official UN vehicle to kidnap the body of a murdered Israeli man, and another UNRWA employee bragged in a phone call about capturing an Israeli woman, who he referred to as a sabaya (sex slave.)In November 2023, Macron said there was “no justification” for Israel’s bombing of “these babies, these ladies, these old people,” referring to airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.“There is no reason for that and no legitimacy,” Macron claimed. “So we do urge Israel to stop.” CeasefireEgyptEmmanuel MacronIsrael-Hamas ceasefireIsrael-Jordan relationsIsraeli ceasefireMacron