France vote on Palestine 'lost cause' for Israel supporters

France vote on Palestine 'lost cause' for Israel supporters

French parliament to vote Tuesday on resolution urging French government to recognize the state of Palestine as step to reach agreement to end conflict.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4598250,00.html

Alexandra Lukash

Israel supporters in the French parliament said on Monday that the fight against legislation that would put pressure on the French government to recognize a Palestinian state is a lost cause. The vote on the issue is set to take place on Tuesday.

“The French parliament is without a doubt anti-Zionist,” member of French parliament Meyer Habib told Ynet.

Netanyahu and French parliament member Meyer Habib (right).

“Its members hide behind this concept, but it is clear to everyone that there is anti-Semitism here,” Habib continued.

“I tried to explain to them that it only strengthens terrorism, but they do not understand,” said Habib, who was elected to the National Assembly last year, the lower house of the French Parliament.

Habib previously served as the chairman of the umbrella organization of Jewish organizations in France.

“Just last summer there was a big rally supporting Hamas in Paris, where (people) chanted “Death to the Jews,” and parliament members also participated. I spoke with the prime minister face-to-face, and he really understands the situation, but he cannot convince the parliament,” said Habib.

Last Friday, the MPs proposed a resolution urging the French government “to recognize the State of Palestine as a step to reach an agreement that would end the conflict.”

The vote on the resolution will take place on Tuesday, and according to Habib, the results are already known in advance.

“Unfortunately there is almost no chance to convince the parliament. The communist, socialist and environmentalist majority will vote in favor of the recognition, because they think recognizing Palestine will solve everything, the whole conflict,” Habib said.

“The parliament members do not understand the situation, they are blind,” said Habib, who splits his time between Paris and Jerusalem.

“They do not understand that Islamic terror reaches the entire world, also France. They do not want to see the truth,” Habib added.

Habib warned about the implications of support for a Palestinian state: "It would make France irrelevant in the Middle East. France is essentially abandoning the only democracy in the Middle East that protects human rights, and (instead) is backing a terrorist organization. (The move will have) implications for the relations between the countries."

On Friday, France said it was working with partners on a "final" diplomatic push to overcome the impasse between Israelis and Palestinians, which includes setting a two-year timeframe to end the conflict through a UN-backed resolution.

"If this final effort to reach a negotiated solution fails, then France will have to do what it takes by recognizing without delay the Palestinian state," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told the French parliament.

Lawmakers are set to hold a symbolic parliamentary vote on December 2 on whether the French government should recognize Palestine as a state, a move that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has called a "grave mistake".

The vote has raised domestic political pressure for the government to be more active on the issue.