Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa discussed Monday with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot developments in the Palestinian territories and the region, and the efforts made to stop the war of extermination on the Gaza Strip that has completed its first year, and the escalation of the Israeli occupation's measures and settler attacks in the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem. Mustafa stressed during the meeting that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the Palestinian state, and the government is committed to fulfilling its duty towards the Strip despite the financial blockade and Israeli deductions from clearance funds. He pointed out that the Israeli occupation wants to turn the West Bank into another version of the Gaza Strip, through incursions into the northern West Bank governorates, the blockade, the destruction of infrastructure, killing, arrests, and the imposition of checkpoints and closures. The Palestinian Prime Minister also stressed the importance of France's recognition o f the State of Palestine and supporting Palestinian efforts to end the occupation and embody the establishment of the Palestinian state. For his part, Barrot stressed his country's continued support for Palestine, whether directly or through the European Union, and the efforts and contacts made to reach ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and stop the escalation in the region as a whole. Source: Qatar News Agency