France, Aug. 6 -- Two prominent voices with deep ties to Israel and the Middle East are urging President Emmanuel Macron to back up his announcement that France will recognise Palestinian statehood with concrete action over the crisis in Gaza.

Former Israeli ambassador to France Elie Barnavi and historian Vincent Lemire have called on Macron to impose sanctions on Israel, underlining the "absolute urgency" of such action given the worsening humanitarian crisis.

"Mr President, if immediate sanctions are not imposed on Israel, you will end up recognising a cemetery. We must act now to ensure food and medical aid can reach Gaza at scale," they wrote, in an opinion piece published in the French newspaperLe Monde on Tuesday.

They argued tha...