Macron questions Trump’s Gaza peace assessment at UN as aid restrictions to besieged enclave persist

New Delhi: The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has questioned the portrayal of Gaza peace initiative by the United States president, Donald Trump, as a diplomatic success. Macron argued at the UN general assembly that humanitarian access to the besieged Palestinians remained severely constrained and developments in the West Bank continued to undermine prospects for Palestinian statehood. 

Trump, speaking from the same podium hours earlier, had presented the Gaza framework as one of his administration’s foreign policy achievements.

In his final general assembly address before leaving office next year, Macron said declarations of peace had to be measured against conditions on the ground. He pointed to continued humanitarian difficulties in Gaza and settlement expansion and violence in the occupied West Bank, arguing that these developments were eroding the territorial basis for a viable Palestinian state.

Macron said the continued restrictions on humanitarian access made claims of a settled peace difficult to sustain, describing the situation as a “spectacle that should shame us all”.

Trump’s 20-point comprehensive plan led to a ceasefire in October 2025 and was endorsed by the UN security council in Resolution 2803 the following month. The framework covers hostage releases, phased Israeli withdrawal, humanitarian assistance, transitional governance, demilitarization and reconstruction.

The White House rejected Macron’s assessment. Trump’s spokeswoman, Anna Kelly, said the US president had ended the war between Israel and Hamas, secured the return of hostages and was overseeing implementation of the 20-point Gaza plan. She said no leader had done more for peace and stability in the region.

A May report submitted by the so-called Board of Peace to the security council said all hostages had been returned and the ceasefire had largely held, but acknowledged continuing violations and impediments to humanitarian access.

The latest UN data show that aid continues to enter Gaza, but under significant constraints. Kerem Shalom remains the only operational cargo crossing, while the proportion of authorized UN and partner consignments successfully offloaded there fell to 70 per cent in the latest reporting period. The Egyptian corridor recorded substantially higher rejection and return rates.

West Bank adds to diplomatic divide

Macron also focused on the West Bank, saying settlement expansion and attacks on Palestinians were making a future Palestinian state harder to realize. UN humanitarian monitors recorded more than 1,600 settler attacks causing casualties or property damage across 275 Palestinian communities in 2026, while more than 4,100 Palestinians had been displaced through demolitions, settler violence and associated access restrictions by mid-September.

France formally recognized the State of Palestine in September 2025 and has since hardened its position on settlement activity and settler violence in the occupied West Bank. Reuters reported that Paris has imposed national sanctions on some individuals and begun a process aimed at banning products from Israeli settlements, while continuing to advocate a two-state solution.

Macron further argued that policies weakening the sovereignty of Israel’s neighbours would ultimately weaken Israeli security. Israel, meanwhile, maintains that implementation of the Gaza framework must include the disarming of Hamas and demilitarization of the territory.