French President Emmanuel Macron announced Tuesday that France will help the Palestinian Authority (PA) draft a constitution for a future Palestinian state—an initiative unveiled after talks with PA President Mahmoud Abbas at the Élysée Palace.
Against that backdrop, Macron’s plan to assist the PA with drafting a new constitution has drawn both international attention and skepticism. “We will establish a joint committee with the Palestinian Authority to work on all legal aspects—constitutional, institutional, and organizational,” Macron said during a joint press conference with Abbas. He added that Abbas presented him with an initial draft of the prospective Palestinian constitution.
France, which led a group of European nations in recognizing a Palestinian state at the United Nations in September, said the move was driven by frustration over Israel’s opposition to Palestinian statehood and the ongoing war in Gaza. Macron also announced €100 million ($116 million) in humanitarian aid for Gaza in 2025 and warned that any Israeli annexation plans in the West Bank would cross a “red line.”
“Plans for partial or total annexation, whether legal or de facto, constitute a red line to which we will respond strongly with our European partners,” Macron said. He condemned “settler violence and the acceleration of settlement projects,” calling them violations of international law that “threaten the stability of the West Bank.”
However, the meeting came amid renewed controversy over the PA’s financial practices. Ahead of the Paris meeting, French officials confronted Abbas regarding illicit payments Ramallah made to Palestinian security prisoners—an apparent continuation of the “pay-to-slay” scheme that has long rewarded terrorists and their families based on the length of their prison sentences.
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