Éric Zemmour, a Jewish intellectual whose been rising in the polls in France as a presumptive presidential contender, made it clear in a recent interview that he stands by Israel.
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Speaking with i24NEWS' French station on Tuesday, he said that the two-state solution belongs to the past, calling for an updated French policy on this matter.
According to Zemmour, the real fault line in the Middle East is the one dividing Shiites from Sunnis.
"If Israel says Jerusalem is its capital, then it's the capital," the journalist and author told the international news outlet. The 63-year-old, which according to some polls is poised to make the runoff vote against incumbent President Emmanuel Macron in April 2022 if he were to throw his hat in the ring, did not call himself a Zionist in the interview. "I am a French citizen," he said, adding that he has his own way of interpreting Zionism. "If Zionism is the view that Israel should have the right to self defense, then I am in."
He noted that seeking a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was an outdated approach. "I don't believe in it; the Palestinians lost the battle and there will never be a Palestinian state," he said. "The biggest clash in the Middle East is that between Shiites and the Sunnis, as is the case between Saudi Arabia and Iran."
Zemmour was born to Jewish immigrants from Algeria and is married to a Jew. He is a controversial figure because of his hawkish views on immigration and the threat posed by Islam to French culture. He has also been the source of criticism for his attacks on progressive groups.
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