President Macron’s Gift to Hamas

How France Initiated "Phase Two" in The War On Israel

France just lit a fuse in the Middle East powder keg. Yesterday, President Macron announced plans to unilaterally recognise Palestine as a state. Hamas celebrated. Israel vowed defiance. And the world pretended this was about "peace". But as a Middle East analyst who’s tracked this conflict for over 14 years, I’ll tell you the brutal truth: This isn’t diplomacy. It’s Phase Two of a Palestinian strategy to destroy Israel. Let me tell you how.

Photo credit: Abaca Press / Alamy Stock Photo

Terrorism is the deliberate targeting of civilians to impose political will through fear. This isn’t my definition. It’s the global consensus codified by the UN (Schmid, 2011). Hamas’ October 7th massacre—burning families alive, raping women, kidnapping babies and toddlers—wasn’t "resistance." It was genocidal terrorism designed to trigger statehood.

Now, The Plan Is Simple. And Deadly.

First, you secure recognition of a Palestinian state under the "two-state solution." No defined borders, that’s fine. Even demilitarisation is fine. All you need is just a stamp of legitimacy. Once that’s done, you weaponise statehood. You gear up for a long, and final, war. You demand the right to an army "for self-defence", arguing, “if the Jews can have their army, why not us? This is discrimination.” And slowly, you build your forces. Hamas knows this. That’s why Hamas called France’s move a "positive step in the right direction". For them, it’s not about coexistence. It’s about acquiring the legal tools to wage a final war. It’s why the overwhelming majority of them and their supporters refer to every inch of Israel as “Palestine”.

Look at the facts. After October 7^th, Hamas repeatedly demanded all land "from the river to the sea", and promised a repeat of October 7th until Israel is no more. Polls show the overwhelming majority of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, and indeed Muslim Arabs, reject permanent peace with Israel. In fact, the majority believe the apocalyptic battle of Al-Malḥama Al-Kubra (Arabic: الملحمة الكبرى), which roughly translates to "The Greatest Battle", will be the final battle between Jews and Muslims and that it will bring the end of Israel and Jews.

In addition to this, Iran, as well as others across the region, are likely to arm the new Palestinian state "to its teeth." This isn’t speculation. It’s a roadmap. Recognition unlocks Palestine’s right to sign defence pacts with Iran, Qatar, Turkey, Egypt, or Hezbollah. It also unlocks a form of hostility and hatred against Israel that I am too familiar with. Consider Syria: granted full independence on 17 April 1946 after French colonial rule. Rather than consolidate its fledgling state, Damascus spent the next two years preparing for war. Then, on the very day Israel declared independence—15 May 1948—Syria joined Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq in a coordinated invasion. Tanks crossed the Galilee frontier within hours, Syrian aircraft bombed Tel Aviv, and Jordan’s Arab Legion seized East Jerusalem. This wasn’t isolated aggression—it was a pattern. Lebanon had gained independence in 1943, yet committed its army to the invasion. Jordan, freshly sovereign since 1946, used British-trained troops to attack Jewish West Jerusalem. Egypt, freed from British military occupation only in 1947, spearheaded the war against Israel in 1948.

Five Arab states, all recently recognised sovereign entities, chose war against Israel over state-building within a few years of gaining independence. Why would Macron’s “Palestine” be different?!!

A fledgling Palestinian state would likely replicate this historical playbook: exploiting international recognition to legitimise territorial claims, then mobilising for war under the banner of ‘liberating historic Palestine’. Hamas’s explicit endorsement of the 7 October 2023 massacre as a ‘battle for liberation’ confirms this intent remains central to Palestinian leadership.

So, while Macron framed this recognition as "pressuring Israel to negotiate", France in fact just handed Hamas exactly what it wanted: international legitimacy as freedom fighters. Now the UK and Germany face pressure to follow. And Israel? It gets isolated, dragged to courts, and demonised as the "obstacle to peace" while Hamas rearms.

But Here’s the Ultimate Irony…

Statehood guarantees war, not peace. History screams this lesson. Let’s talk about India and Pakistan. In 1947, Britain partitioned the subcontinent to "solve" Hindu-Muslim tensions. They drew lines on a map and declared two states. The result? Up to 2 million dead in the chaos, 14 million displaced, and 75 years of conflict: four wars, a nuclear arms race, and Kashmir—a bleeding wound threatening global peace daily

Partition didn’t end the conflict. It legalised it. Gave both sides armies, flags, and UN seats to legitimise their hatred. Pakistan became a sanctuary for jihadists attacking India. India responded with brutal crackdowns. Sounds familiar?

Now apply this to Palestine:

• Like Pakistan, a new Palestinian state would nurse generations of grievance.

• Like Kashmir, Jerusalem and the West Bank would become eternal battlegrounds.

• And like India and Pakistan’s nukes, Israel’s arsenal and Iran’s proxies would turn this into a radioactive standoff.

This Is the Future France Just Unleashed
Palestinian statehood won’t bring peace. It will create another Lebanon on Israel’s border. A legally recognised platform for Palestinians to launch rockets and plot terrorist attacks. A staging ground for the "final war" Hamas dreams of. And when that war comes—as it did in 1948, 1967, and 2023—the world will blame Israel for defending itself.

Macron sold this as courage. It’s cowardice. He gave Hamas the keys to a sovereign killing field. And like Britain in 1947, he walked away from the explosion.