French President Emmanuel Macron intends to call for “a return to a real peace process” and and end to the “colonization” of the West Bank when he visits Israel, the French outlet BFMTV reported on Monday.

Macron, who is expected in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, intends to express solidarity with Israel and make “very clear commitments against terrorist groups,” said BFM, citing the Elysee Palace. 

He also wants to “reopen a political perspective” for the Palestinians, in order to see the release of all the hostages held in Gaza, defuse hostilities, and “avoid the generalization of the conflict” into a “dangerous and uncontrolled escalation in the Middle East.” A key part of this proposal, the French presidency added, would be stopping the growth of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

An unnamed presidential adviser told BFM that France wants a temporary truce in order to facilitate the release of hostages held by Hamas.

“We want a humanitarian pause, a humanitarian truce, which if necessary gives us enough space to build a political scenario which would hopefully lead to a ceasefire,” the adviser said.

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