This week, Indonesia welcomed France’s decision to recognise the State of Palestine as a “positive step” toward peace. On its surface, this diplomatic endorsement may appear aligned with Indonesia’s long-standing support for Palestinian self-determination. But behind France’s gesture lies a deeper, more dangerous calculus—one that does not just ignore the reality on the ground, but actively entrenches it.

What France proposes is not justice. It is not freedom. It is an updated version of the same illusion that has kept Palestinians caged and dispossessed for decades: the so-called two-state solution.

In Jakarta’s official statement, the French move was praised for supporting a “sovereign and independent” Palestinian state based on 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. But President Emmanuel Macron made clear what kind of state he envisions: a demilitarized Palestine that fully recognizes Israel. No mention of dismantling settlements, no restitution for occupied land, no accountability for war crimes in Gaza. Only submission, in return for a diplomatic label.

This is not a step toward peace—it’s a framework for permanent subjugation.

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