Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, along with plans for Gaza, during a Monday phone call, Palestinian state-run WAFA News Agency reported Monday.
Abbas emphasized the "urgent need for a ceasefire and the swift delivery of humanitarian aid" into the Gaza Strip.
Abbas also stated his "firm rejection" of the plan to relocate Gazans from the Strip.
The two discussed the possibility of the Palestinian Authority assuming “full responsibility” in Gaza, including security duties, with the goal of “international legitimacy, one system, one law, and one legitimate source of arms.”
France’s recognition of a Palestinian state
Macron said on Wednesday France could recognize a Palestinian state in June, adding that in turn some countries in the Middle East could recognize the state of Israel.
"We need to move towards recognition (of a Palestinian state). And so over the next few months, we will. I'm not doing it to please anyone. I'll do it because at some point it will be right," he said during an interview on France 5 television.
"And because I also want to take part in a collective dynamic that should also enable those who defend Palestine to recognize Israel in their turn, something that many of them are not doing."
In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son, Yair, wrote on X/Twitter, “Screw you! Yes to the independence of New Caledonia! Yes to the independence of French Polynesia! Yes to the independence of Corsica! Yes to the independence of the Basque Country! Yes to the independence of French Guinea! Stop the neoimperialism of France in West Africa!”
Reuters contributed to this report.