French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that the coming hours will be crucial in establishing peace in the Gaza Strip, and that the current conference held in Paris aims to work in parallel with President Donald Trump’s initiative.

Paris is hosting a meeting of foreign ministers from Western and Arab countries today to discuss forming an international peacekeeping force and assisting in Gaza’s reconstruction once the fighting stops.

Macron also affirmed that the “acceleration” of settlement activity in the West Bank “poses an existential threat to a Palestinian state.”

He added that it is “not only unacceptable and contrary to international law, but it fuels tensions, violence, and instability, and contradicts the American plan and our shared ambition for a peaceful region.”

He considered that it “threatens the previously signed Abraham Accords and has no connection to the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) or the events of October 7, 2023.”

Macron emphasized that “the unity of Gaza and the West Bank through the Palestinian Authority should not remain a vague prospect, but a transitional phase with a clear deadline to achieve this goal must be defined.”

He also stressed the necessity of “disarming Hamas and collectively pressuring it to achieve this goal.”

He pointed out the “need for Palestinians themselves to manage Gaza in the future,” considering that this administration “should form the basis for the political horizon confirmed by President Trump: the right to self-determination and the establishment of a Palestinian state.”

Early Thursday, after four days of indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel in the Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh, a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip was announced.

The agreement includes the release of prisoners held in Gaza in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons and the entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip.

With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, resulting in 67,194 deaths and 169,890 injuries, most of whom are children and women, and a famine that claimed the lives of 460 Palestinians including 154 children.