France wants to work with Arab countries on a realistic plan to rebuild Gaza instead of pursuing US visions of a “new New York”, an ally of President Emmanuel Macron in the French parliament has said.
Arab countries were “closer to the conflict and more committed to resolving it”, Amelia Lakrafi, a member of parliament from Mr Macron's party, told The National on Wednesday.
While Paris is still engaged in talks with the US over the future of Gaza, “We still think we have to work with the Arabs,” said Ms Lakrafi. She said a $53 billion postwar reconstruction proposal for Gaza adopted by the Arab League was “more realistic and acceptable” than plans for a New Gaza under US President Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan.
Mr Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, outlined plans for Gaza's reconstruction at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week. The redevelopment project included artist renderings of a completely reconstructed enclave, replete with skyscrapers and glitzy apartment buildings.
The presentation came after Mr Trump unveiled the Board of Peace at the annual summit with leaders and representatives of countries that had signed up. The diplomatic initiative has responsibility for overseeing Gaza's peace plan.
Mr Macron promptly declined Mr Trump's invitation to join, saying that the board's charter appeared to contradict UN principles. In response, Mr Trump mocked the French leader and threatened a 200 per cent tariff on French goods.
“I don't understand this Board of Peace. It's very weird, but if it can help peacefully rebuild Gaza, I'm OK with it,” said Ms Lakrafi. “We are not dreaming of creating a new 'New York', we simply want to help rebuild Gaza with partners who are really concerned about its future,” she added.
Next steps
France has one clear priority, the MP told The National, “to protect civilians everywhere and provide support with humanitarian aid”.
It recognised the state of Palestine in a historic move in September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, urging other nations to follow suit. Canada, Australia, the UK, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra all made similar announcements in a collective effort to revive momentum for a two-state solution.
“This is the oldest conflict in the world,” said Ms Lakrafi. “I think we can all agree that enough is enough.”
A crucial next step for Palestine so that it will receive wider recognition and support is to hold free and transparent elections this year, she said.
In her capacity as head of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie (APF), an international organisation with 99 parliamentary representatives, Ms Lakrafi has proposed organising and observing upcoming elections in Palestine. She said her proposal has been welcomed by the Palestinian Authority and received backing from the Arab League.
“If you have a President and MPs who are legally elected, it would be more helpful for Palestine to be part of the UN, and for more countries to recognise it and eventually receive more support,” she told The National.
Lebanon and Syria
France is also hosting an international conference to support the Lebanese army in March, which is currently carrying out the sensitive task of disarming Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
Hosted by Mr Macron in Paris, the conference will be the first major fund-raising effort for the Lebanese army and security forces since 2024. Salaries in the Lebanese military have fallen significantly since the onset of one of the country's worst economic crises in 2019, leaving services heavily reliant on foreign aid.
“Our relationship with Lebanon is very old and very deep. We are very close to that country,” said Ms Lakrafi. “We have been committed to helping them since the start, so we cannot stop in the middle of the road now,” she continued, adding that the region “needs the Lebanese army to be stable”.
Meanwhile, in neighbouring Syria, where fear and anxiety dominate in what remains of Kurdish-led territory, France is being increasingly viewed as a more reliable defender than the US.
Damascus launched a swift offensive against the Syrian Democratic Forces after months of stalled talks between the Kurdish-led group and the central government over integration into the Syrian state.
For years, the SDF were the main ground partner in defeating ISIS in Syria, fighting its forces and guarding prisons holding more than 10,000 combatants, but US support for the SDF has waned. Earlier this month, US envoy Tom Barrack said the original purpose of the SDF had “largely expired”.
“We are deeply concerned about Syria's Kurds,” said Ms Lakrafi. “I know that we are talking with them and that we have to stand by them. They helped a lot in the fight against ISIS, and we need to support them,” she told The National.
Meanwhile, Paris is also in talks with Mr Al Shara on the fate of the Kurds and other minorities in the country, said the MP. “He's in charge, so we have to talk to him. We talk with everyone. With diplomatic dialogue, we can achieve what we want to achieve.”
