Like the equivalent resolution passed by the British House of Commons, the French National Assembly’s recognition of a fictive Palestinian state is a purely symbolic gesture. Although passed by the currently dominant left-wing coalition, the law will no doubt be ignored by the reigning left-wing government, which has shown uncharacteristic sympathy for Israel. Above all, writes Michel Gurfinkiel, the vote is a sign of the French left’s pending electoral collapse:

The unraveling of the French left may be the key to an intriguing paradox: why in the world did the parliamentary left insist upon a foreign-policy resolution that the governing left had no intention of implementing? Dogmatism may be at stake: supporting the state of Palestine, whatever that means and even if it might turn into an Islamic State of Palestine, is part of left and far-left mantras worldwide. A further explanation may be that the left’s last hope to survive in the coming election is to garner as much support as possible from the immigrant Muslim community, which will provide an average of 5 to 10 percent of the vote.

Finally, [President François] Hollande and [Prime Minister Manuel] Valls are so unpopular among their own constituency that the entire socialist and left-wing political class needs to distance itself from them on almost all issues, either domestic or international.

[Nicolas] Sarkozy, who was elected on November 30 as the new chairman of the conservative UMP party—an important step for being reelected as president in 2017—campaigned against the Palestine resolution. This point will not be lost on pro-Israel voters in the future, nor on a growing number of voters, both on the right and the left, that are concerned with the rise of jihadism in Europe as well as in the Middle East.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.