
France Will Recognize Palestinian Statehood
Macron made the surprise announcement in a post on social media, in which he said that he would formally introduce the plan at the U.N. General Assembly in September. 'Today,' Macron said, 'the most urgent thing is that the war in Gaza cease and the civilian population be helped.'
After 21 months of devastating conflict set off by the deadly Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Gaza's most vulnerable civilians are facing what aid groups have described as impending famine.
Dr. Ahmed al-Farra, who leads the pediatric ward at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, said the number of children dying of malnutrition had risen sharply in recent days. 'There is no one in Gaza now outside the scope of famine, not even myself,' Dr. al-Farra said. 'I am speaking to you as a health official, but I, too, am searching for flour to feed my family.'
In related news: Israel and the U.S. walked away from truce talks with Hamas. President Trump's Mideast envoy said that Hamas showed 'a lack of desire to reach a cease-fire.'
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Van Hollen: ‘A big lie' that UN aid for Gaza has been ‘systematically' stolen by Hamas
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said Sunday there is no truth to claims that United Nations aid for Palestinians in Gaza has been 'systematically' stolen by Hamas. 'This is a big lie, the claim that when the U.N. organizations were delivering food to Palestinians, civilians, that it was being systematically diverted to Hamas,' Van Hollen told CBS News's Margaret Brennan on 'Face the Nation.' 'I want to say loudly and clearly, this is a big lie,' the Maryland senator added. On Sunday, Trump said Hamas is stealing food that was meant for people in Gaza, saying to reporters on multiple occasions that goods are being stolen as he was pressed on the hunger crisis in the region. Trump, alongside President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in Turnberry, Scotland, was questioned about his response to the images of starving children in Gaza. 'When I see the children and when I see, especially over the last couple of weeks people are stealing the food, they're stealing the money, they're stealing the money for the food. They're stealing weapons, they're stealing everything,' the president said. 'It's a mess, that whole place is a mess. The Gaza Strip, you know it was given many years ago so they could have peace. That didn't work out too well,' Trump continued. House Speaker Mike Johnson echoed Trump on Sunday's 'Meet the Press' on NBC News. 'This is important to note: Israel, since this war began, has supplied over 94,000 truckloads full of food. It's enough food to feed 2 million people for two years trying to get that into Gaza. But Hamas has stolen the food, a huge amount,' Johnson said. He also criticized 'the system,' calling it 'broken,' adding that beginning tomorrow, the Israeli military will open 'new channels of distribution to get it [food] to those people who are desperately in need.' Former President Obama said on Sunday that 'aid must be permitted to reach people in Gaza.' 'There is no justification for keeping food and water away from civilian families,' the former president added in a post on the social platform X on Sunday.


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French President Emmanuel Macron is having a rough go at home with a 19% approval rating. That may explain at least in part his attempt at making headlines with a vanity project abroad. 'Consistent with its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognize the State of Palestine,' Mr. Macron said Thursday. 'In doing so,' he wrote to Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas, 'France will make a decisive contribution to peace in the Middle East.' It's hard to see how. A Palestinian state doesn't exist, though it's recognized by some 147 nations, many of which did so with the Soviet Union in 1988. 'Here's the good news,' President Trump commented on Mr. Macron's move on Friday. 'What he says doesn't matter. It's not going to change anything.' France isn't involved in any of the serious diplomacy, so it can ignore the real obstacles—Palestinian rejection of a Jewish state in any borders, Hamas's power and popularity, and Israeli reluctance following the hard education of the second intifada, Gaza disengagement and the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre.