A report claims, days after France says it will recognize a Palestinian state...

France’s Macron approved a 2020 meeting between a senior French intelligence official and two Hamas leaders in Doha, Channel 12 reports, days after France announced that it would recognize a Palestinian state.

The meeting, which took place on October 16, 2020, was held between the number 3 official in France’s Directorate-General for External Security, and senior Hamas politburo member Mousa Abu Marzouk and then-retired former political leader Khaled Mashaal.

The French initiated the meeting, which was revealed in a document found by the IDF in Gaza, according to the report.

The document indicated that the senior French official told the Hamas leaders that Paris was unhappy with the way the US was handling the Palestinian issue.

“I am happy about this meeting,” said the official. “I am here after approval from President Macron. We don’t want to speak only with the Palestinian Authority, but also with you. We, France, are close historically to the Palestinian struggle.”

According to the report, the Hamas officials responded: “Even if the international community supports the Zionist entity, be certain that we will defeat them. This land is ours, and our resistance and revolution have continued for over 100 years, and we will continue until victory.”

There was reportedly no indication from the document that the French took exception to Hamas saying that their goal is to destroy Israel.

A French diplomat tells Channel 12 that the allegations are baseless, that Hamas is a terrorist organization, and that they are meant to harm the legitimacy of our attempts for a political solution of two states.

Macron announced on Thursday that France would recognize a Palestinian state. Given that the document was found by the IDF and was not leaked until this week, the idea that Israel is using it to hit back at France over the recognition is quite plausible.

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