A pair of longtime allies, France and Indonesia, are weighing in on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. At a press conference today, the leaders of both countries pushed for an end to the war in Gaza via a two-state solution, but their proposal has gotten mixed reactions from the global community, and the next steps could get complicated.

Macron's shifting stance
While Indonesia and France have both endorsed a two-state solution, the latter has been "forced to downgrade expectations" about an upcoming Middle East conference it's hosting with Saudi Arabia, said Politico. The Arab nations "want sanctions not statehood," a European diplomat said to the outlet, referring to potential embargoes placed on Israel to end the war. For years, French officials have said Paris was "on the brink of recognizing" Palestinian statehood but "always cautioning it would only make that move if it advances the peace process."

France, which is home to Europe's "largest Jewish and Muslim communities, would become the first Western heavyweight to recognize a Palestinian state," said Reuters. If France "moves, several [European] countries will follow," said Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide to Reuters.

While French President Emmanuel Macron's "stance has shifted amid Israel's intensified Gaza offensive," said Reuters, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's view has largely remained the same: pushing for Palestinian state recognition. But Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation, has now "made the rare pledge of recognizing Israel if it allowed for a Palestinian state," said France24. This could mark a turning point for the two countries' relations.

Not the 'right thing to do'
Israel has condemned France's and Indonesia's remarks, as the Israeli government is "unequivocally opposed to Palestinian statehood," said The Times of Israel. A Palestinian state would be a "huge prize for terror," said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The French-Indonesian initiative is not the "right thing to do," said Benny Gantz, the head of Israel's opposition National Unity Party.

Even as they push for an end to the war, Indonesia has said it would be willing to send weapons to the Middle East, and France has cooperated with joint military training. Their proposal aside, "stopping the violence" in the Gaza Strip, said Politico, still "depends on what the United States, Israel's closest ally and largest military backer, decides to do."

A secretive group of North Koreans has been securing IT jobs across the U.S. and U.K., using AI tools and local accomplices to obscure their true identities. Their goal, said Politico, is to cash in on "top tech salaries to funnel millions of dollars back to Pyongyang for its weapons program." 

How do they get hired? 
North Korean nationals set up fake LinkedIn profiles, claiming to be from "countries including Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Ukraine, the U.S. and Vietnam," said Bloomberg. Most are actually based in Russia and China, according to the Department of Justice. 

Their fake identities are carefully crafted, including "pseudonymous email, social media, payment platform and online job site accounts," said Bloomberg. Once hired, workers are onboarded with their false credentials, sometimes including a U.S. "front" address where American accomplices can receive company laptops and keep them running. 

How's the money acquired? 
IT worker teams are given "'earnings quotas' by Kim Jong Un's regime," Michael Barnhart, of risk management firm DTEX, said to Wired. Workers operate on behalf of several North Korean military and intelligence organizations, and the money they earn is channeled back to them. In one operation, shut down by U.S. authorities in February, workers had infiltrated more than 300 American companies and collectively earned more than $17 million, often in cryptocurrency or laundered through banks in third countries like China.

What's being done about it? 
Given the difficulty of targeting suspects based in North Korea or allied countries like Russia and China, U.S. law enforcement agencies are increasingly turning their attention to the accomplices who help pull off the scams. In January, two Americans were arrested for running so-called laptop farms, which receive and operate company devices on behalf of North Korean operatives. 

Meanwhile, IT firms in the U.S. and Europe are being urged to insist on face-to-face or video interviews with potential hires. But even that might not be enough. It's reportedly becoming increasingly common for applicants to use real-time AI deepfake technology to change their appearance on video calls.