French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his concern over the deteriorating situation in the Palestinian territories and his willingness to work for “permanent peace” in the region during a telephone conversation with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The French presidency revealed that Macron “denounced the continuation of the settlement policy and reminded Mahmoud Abbas of France’s strong commitment to respecting the legitimate rights of the Palestinians.”

During the wave of violence that began in late March, 19 people, most of them civilians, were killed by Palestinians in attacks against Israelis.

In response to the attacks, Israeli forces intensified their fighting in the West Bank, where 39 Palestinians, including activists and civilians, including journalist Shirin Abu Akle, were killed while covering an Israeli military operation in the Jenin refugee camp, a stronghold of the Palestinian armed groups. .

Macron expressed “condolences to the Palestinian people” in connection with the murder of Abu Akle and stressed the “importance that France attaches to clarifying the circumstances of the death” of the Palestinian journalist.