“The two-state solution, which we have buried,” is “more than ever, today, the only one” to overcome the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, asserted former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, on Oct. 12 on France Inter. Dominique de Villepin served as prime minister from 2005-2007, and before that had been Interior Minister and Foreign Minister.
Commenting on statements by Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna (see separate report), Villepin said that hearing Colonna defend the creation of a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel made him “happy.” In France’s view it’s “the only solution in our view that will ensure that both peoples live in peace and security for the long term. … Let’s make sure that a Palestinian Authority emerges that is representative and capable of conducting negotiations,” argued Dominique de Villepin. From that point of view, “Israel has a responsibility, because it has done everything to divide.”
The two-state solution is, “in terms of security, the best guarantee Israel could have,” because “having a constituted state next to you is better than having a swarm of terrorist organizations, a mortifying cauldron that threatens you at every moment.” “That’s what the Israelis have been reminded” with the Hamas offensive, Villepin said.
For Dominique de Villepin, France has an important role to play in easing tensions in the Middle East. “There is also a demand for responsibility that we must shoulder at the head of the international community,” because in his view, “we are perhaps one of the countries with the greatest experience of these situations of war, crisis and terrorism. We therefore have experience to share, and we need to be imaginative, we need to find solutions in humanitarian terms.”
The former diplomat was also critical of Israel’s response to the Hamas offensive. “The right to self-defense is not a right to indiscriminate revenge. Fighting Hamas does not mean locking up 2 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip without being able to get out,” said Villepin. “For that reason, we need to think in terms of ‘humanitarian corridors,’ so that all this doesn’t end in a bloodbath.”
