France is reportedly looking to broker a new ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza, linking the agreement to the normalisation of the relationship between Israel and Saudi Arabia to keep Jerusalem on board.
President Macron is looking to agree a “broad deal” in the coming weeks which would bridge the key divides between the two sides and end the fighting in favour of talks on a permanent peace plan, according to Haaretz.
The report states that the proposals are being developed in partnership with Saudi Arabia and looks to offer normalisation with Riyadh as a carrot to ensure Israeli support and secure a full IDF withdrawal from Gaza.
They would also reportedly allow Jerusalem to “sidestep” endorsing the creation of a Palestinian state and contain a clause allowing strikes on the Strip to resume if provoked.
Macron is apparently hoping to get the deal over the line in the coming weeks so that long-term talks can begin ahead of an international conference on the conflict, set to be led jointly by France and Saudi Arabia.
The French leader has recently indicated that Paris will announce its own recognition of Palestine at the conference, which will take place in New York in June.
This would act as a prelude to talks on a permanent two-state solution in terms acceptable to Israel.
Ofer Bronchtein, an adviser to Macron on the conflict, told Haaretz that the President is holding almost daily talks with regional figures, including the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
He added that the recognition of Palestine from France could be offered in exchange for the Gulf States formally recognising Israel.
Jerusalem is understood to have long desired closer ties with Riyadh, which is also allied to the US and could act as a key regional partner against Iran.
Bronchtein also claimed that negotiations with Egypt to temporarily take in hundreds of Gazans during the reconstruction of the enclave in return for the restructuring of its international debt.
Likewise, Macron is apparently urgently working to secure a trade-off in which Hamas releases its remaining hostages, while Israel allows humanitarian aid to access Gaza once more.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu may yet act as a roadblock to the plan given his determination against the recognition of a Palestinian state. His office has confirmed that, during a call with Macron this week, Netanyahu “expressed fierce opposition” to the move and said that would amount to “a huge prize for terrorism”.
