The 2014 Israel-Hamas Conflict

Abstract

The eruption of a new military conflict between Israel and Hamas in the summer of 2014 was at first followed by unequivocal French support for Israel’s right to defend itself. However, the rising death toll in Gaza and the spread of a pro-Palestinian protest movement on French soil altered this position radically, making way for an assertive French peace initiative. This article adopts a historical perspective and relies on a comprehensive analysis of French public sources to examine the impact exerted by this distant conflict over French foreign and domestic policies throughout the war and its aftermath. Ultimately, it shows that, although France’s determination to take action was in part motivated by foreign policy factors, public opinion played an important, if not equivalent, role in the country’s diplomatic activism.