Roger-Luc Chayer (Image : Meta AI / Gay Globe)
France has just announced that it will recognize the sovereignty of Palestine next September, several decades after the creation of the State of Israel on a territory traditionally inhabited by both Jewish and Palestinian communities. This decision comes in part as a response to what are widely seen as Israel’s inhumane actions in the context of the conflict, not only with Gaza but also in the occupied territories further north.
From the moment of the attack on Israel and the thousands of murders committed by Hamas, the de facto authority in Gaza, Israel claimed the right to respond militarily. At the time, this was seen as a legitimate decision to prevent this recognized terrorist group from repeating such actions. But where Israel has failed is in turning its retaliation against the civilian population, destroying almost everything in its path and resorting to methods now described by some as genocidal.
It is well known that, to this day, Israel exercises excessive control over the entry of goods and services into the Gaza Strip, severely restricting access to medicine and food supplies, which has led to a famine of a scale unseen since the Second World War and outbreaks of diseases that would otherwise be easy to treat.
This is the result of a deliberate policy by Israel, not a mere coincidence.
What is genocide?
Under international law, genocide refers to acts committed with a very specific intent: the destruction, in whole or in part, of a human group identified by nationality, ethnicity, race or religion. What sets genocide apart from other mass crimes is precisely this targeted will to exterminate, which must be proven in order for the crime to be legally defined as such.
In practice, genocide takes shape through acts like killings, serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting living conditions intended to bring about the group’s physical destruction, forced sterilization or the transfer of children from one group to another. But at the heart of all this, it is not only the violence that matters, but the intent to erase the very existence of the targeted group.
It is this combination of the act and the intent to destroy that distinguishes genocide from a war crime or a crime against humanity. Even a large-scale massacre does not become genocide if it is not driven by the aim of wiping out a people, a community or a specific identity from the face of the earth. This is why genocide is considered one of the gravest crimes by international courts and why it is so difficult to prove in court.
Why is France acting this way?
France’s decision to recognize Gaza and the Palestinian Authority as a sovereign state reflects a growing awareness around the world, including in Europe, Canada and many other countries, that Israel has lost control of the situation. Instead of acting as a responsible guardian in the face of the very real threat posed by Hamas, recognized internationally as a terrorist organization, Israel has turned its force against an entire population because of its origin and religion. The recognition of Palestinian sovereignty thus becomes an official means for the international community to affirm that Palestine must be protected under international law, and that other countries are now justified in stepping in to defend it from actions that could amount to a genocidal policy by its belligerent neighbor.
I said it from the beginning: Palestine made a grave mistake in October 2023 by attacking its Israeli neighbor, killing thousands and destroying the lives of many survivors, not to mention the plight of the hostages who are dead or still held captive on Palestinian territory. But I also stated at the time that Israel, for its part, made a terrible mistake by inflicting on the Palestinian population methods of reprisal reminiscent of those used during the Second World War by the Nazi regime against the Jews. If such horrors were intolerable then, they are no more acceptable today.
A recognition that comes with responsibilities
France’s official recognition of a sovereign Palestinian state is not an empty symbolic gesture. Every sovereign state has duties and responsibilities towards its people, in line with international law. A Palestinian state will have to establish a democratic government capable of adopting laws and regulations that guarantee its people and its minorities the fundamental protections that are the responsibility of any legitimate state. This means putting in place an accessible healthcare system, free education, charters that protect minorities, including LGBTQ+ communities, and fully assuming its role on the international stage by acting as a responsible government.
Recognizing a state officially is never just a diplomatic gift; it is also an acknowledgment that this state now bears the supreme duty to protect its people and to be accountable to other nations.
While the President of the United States declared this morning that France is wasting its time on a measure that will have no effect, Paris is betting that by welcoming Palestine into the community of nations, it will help better manage the current crisis. Israel will then be facing not just a handful of so-called “squatters” occupying the arid land it openly covets, but a community of nations that uphold international law and that could, if necessary, intervene to protect Palestine.
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