Three Palestinian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that senior leaders of Hamas’ political bureau recently held a highly confidential meeting with a French delegation that included current and former diplomats, as well as members of parliament from both parties within France’s governing coalition and the opposition.
Two of the sources — one affiliated with a Palestinian civil society organization involved in programs with France and other European countries, and another linked to a Palestinian faction close to Hamas — said the meeting took place “recently” in an unspecified country in the region. Both declined to identify the location but described the gathering as “extremely secret.”
According to the sources, several governments, Palestinian factions, and mediators involved in Gaza ceasefire efforts, including Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye, were informed of the meeting shortly before or soon after it occurred. One source said Hamas informed a number of parties that the meeting was taking place, without disclosing details.
Two Hamas officials confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the meeting had occurred but declined further comment.
The meeting is notable because it appears to be the first known encounter between European officials and Hamas leaders since the group’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Since then, Hamas representatives have met US officials and presidential envoys as part of ceasefire negotiations that resulted in the release of hostages held by the group. Those contacts were publicly praised at the time by President Donald Trump, despite Washington’s designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization since 1997.
France does not formally designate Hamas as a terrorist organization under its national legal framework, although French authorities prosecute individuals accused of financing the group. Following the October 7 attack, debate intensified in Paris over calls to formally classify Hamas as a terrorist organization.
The European Union has listed Hamas and its military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, on its terrorist sanctions list since 2001. In May, the EU imposed additional sanctions on Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement.
The reported meeting also comes amid nearly two years of strained relations between Paris and Tel Aviv, as well as growing tensions between French President Emmanuel Macron and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel’s military campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon and its strikes in Syria.
After France recognized the State of Palestine, Netanyahu accused Macron in August of “fueling antisemitism,” prompting a sharp response from the Elysee Palace, which described the remarks as “base” and founded on falsehoods.
Issues discussed
A source from Palestinian civil society said the talks focused broadly on the Palestinian situation, including efforts to reorganize Palestinian internal affairs, improve national reconciliation, and advance a political process aimed at ending the conflict with Israel.
According to the source, discussions also touched on supporting Palestinians’ right to establish an independent state based on the June 4, 1967, borders.
France has been a leading advocate of the two-state solution and, alongside Saudi Arabia, has spearheaded international efforts that helped generate a wave of diplomatic recognition for a Palestinian state and broader support within the United Nations.
The disclosure of the meeting comes as Hamas is engaged in difficult negotiations over the future of its weapons arsenal.
The group has linked any discussion of disarmament to a clearly defined political process that guarantees Palestinian self-determination and the establishment of a sovereign state.
A history of contacts
The reported meeting is not unprecedented. In 2008, Hamas disclosed that it had held discussions with several European officials, including French representatives.
Then-French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner acknowledged such contacts but emphasized that France would not establish formal relations with Hamas unless it recognized Israel and renounced violence.
At the time, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said European interlocutors were seeking to understand the movement’s positions on political developments and the prospects for a Palestinian state.
Those contacts coincided with Hamas’ gradual adoption of a position accepting a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders as an interim solution, while stopping short of recognizing Israel and insisting on the right of return for Palestinian refugees and East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
In 2009, then-Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Meshaal met two French lawmakers in Damascus.
A further shift came in 2017, when Hamas elected a new leadership headed by Ismail Haniyeh and revised its political document to accept a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders.
The movement also expanded outreach to Russia, Iran, Arab and Islamic countries, and European states, while expressing openness to dialogue with a broad range of international actors, including the United States.
More recently, Hamas has sought through international law firms and legal initiatives to challenge its designation as a terrorist organization in several European countries, particularly Britain.
Supporting those efforts was a document signed by Moussa Abu Marzouk, a member of Hamas’ political bureau and head of its international relations office, arguing that Hamas is a national liberation movement, not an antisemitic organization, and does not pose a threat to Western countries.
