French-Saudi peace plan for Gaza removed obstacles to Palestinian statehood: Minister

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the joint initiative with Saudi Arabia has helped remove major obstacles to Palestinian statehood by shifting global consensus at the UN and securing Arab commitments to future ties with Israel. Speaking at Harvard’s Belfer Centre, Mr Barrot recalled how Paris and Riyadh worked for more than a year on the plan to acknowledge Palestine. “Our idea with Saudi Arabia was basically to do our utmost … to remove all possible obstacles on the path towards the State of Palestine,” he said.