Former Diplomats Urge Action to Protect Palestinian State

More than 100 former French and British diplomats have warned that efforts to erase Palestine are unfolding before the world’s eyes, calling for urgent measures to pressure Israel to recognise a Palestinian state.

In an unprecedented joint letter, 52 former French diplomats and 50 former British ambassadors urged French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Andy Burnham to take stronger action, including restrictions on trade and arms sales.

The former diplomats argued that Britain and France, which played significant roles in shaping the modern Middle East and have recognised the State of Palestine, have a responsibility to work together to address the region’s core crisis and ensure equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians.

Many of the signatories previously served in senior diplomatic positions across the Middle East, including in Egypt, Iran, Bahrain, Israel, Syria, Türkiye, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Among the British signatories are former UN ambassadors Jeremy Greenstock and Amir Jones Parry, as well as former Foreign Office Middle East director Edward Chaplin. French signatories include former Foreign Ministry Middle East director Patrice Paoli and former consul general in Jerusalem Stanislas de Laboulaye.

The letter comes as Britain and France, along with nine other countries, have condemned Israel’s tender for construction of the proposed E1 settlement project in the occupied West Bank. They warned that the project would further undermine prospects for a peace process and damage Israel’s international standing.

The former diplomats called on their governments to take concrete measures against Israel to preserve the two-state solution. They also urged businesses not to participate in tenders linked to settlement construction, warning of potential legal and reputational risks.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has described the planned construction of 1,200 homes in the West Bank as a serious threat to the viability of a two-state solution. Britain has also summoned Israel’s chargé d’affaires to protest the plan.

The former diplomats said the international community should urgently turn recognition of Palestine into concrete action, arguing that the Israeli government has disregarded international law, rulings by the International Court of Justice and numerous UN Security Council resolutions.

They condemned Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack as a grave crime but said it could not justify what they described as Israel’s deliberate policy of destroying Gaza and its population.

They further alleged that Palestinians in Gaza are being confined to a severely restricted area amid shortages of food, medicine and shelter, while continued violence and settlement expansion in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are destroying prospects for an independent Palestinian state.

The former diplomats warned that the international community must act to preserve Palestinian statehood and prevent the further erosion of prospects for a lasting and just peace.