Macron slams Jewish ‘settlements,’ calls for peace talks in Abbas meeting

Abbas used the forum to condemn the slaying of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, whom he said was murdered “in cold blood, without reason.”

By World Israel News Staff

French President Emmanuel Macron blasted Jewish building in Judea and Samaria and called for a resumption in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians during a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Macron did not mention the recent wave of Arab and Palestinian terror that left 19 people in Israel dead, instead speaking about a “spiral of violence” to which Israel’s actions, like settlement building, contribute.

“To avert this threat, that undermines the lives of both Palestinians and Israelis, we must act,” Macron stated, adding that preventing unilateral Israeli decisions – like expanding Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria – was a key part of that process.

Evictions of Arab families from eastern Jerusalem homes, like the Shimon HaTzadik (Sheikh Jarrah) neighborhood, and settlement building are “contrary to international law,” he charged.

Notably, the evictions of families in Shimon HaTzadik occurred after three decades of court battles and the presentation of clear evidence that the families in question did not actually have property rights to the homes in which they were living. Such an eviction is not illegal under international law.

Macron also called for the “renewal of direct political dialogue between the Israelis and the Palestinians” in order to achieve “a just and lasting peace.”

Abbas used the forum to condemn the slaying of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, whom he said was murdered “in cold blood, without reason.”

“Who killed her? We want them to find out who did it,” he added.

Octogenarian Abbas, who was elected to a four-year term in 2005 and since then has refused to hold elections, is wildly unpopular with the Palestinian public.

Opinion polls have found that the vast majority of Palestinians living in PA-controlled cities would like Abbas to resign and expressed that they would prefer to be ruled by Gaza-based terror group Hamas.