French President Emmanuel Macron has further strained tense relations with Israel with a comment referencing the creation of the Israeli state, a verbal jab that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned as distorting history.
Macron, a former French patron, has sought to take a more uncompromising stance on conflicts in the Middle East after Israel launched an offensive against bases in Lebanon owned by Shiite operator Hezbollah.
The French leader said last week that stopping the export of weapons used by Israel in its war against Palestinian operator Hamas in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip was the only way to stop both conflicts.
France, home to Europe’s largest Jewish population, has repeatedly urged a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, but has also criticized Israel over the heavy civilian toll in the clashes.
Paris also condemned Israeli firing against 10,000 peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in southern Lebanon, including a French contingent of about 700 soldiers.
In a new sign of tensions between the countries, organizers of next month’s major Euronaval defense show outside Paris said no Israeli stands or demonstrations would be allowed at the show, following a French government decision.
‘not time’
“Mr. Netanyahu must not forget that his country is bound by a UN decision,” Macron said at the weekly French cabinet meeting on Tuesday, referring to the resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly in November 1947 to partition Palestine into a Jewish state. Was created.” And one Arab state.
His comments during the closed-door meeting at the Elysee Palace were quoted by two participants, who spoke to AFP and requested anonymity.
“Therefore, this is not the time to disregard UN decisions,” he said. UN Security Council Resolution 1701 states that only the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL should be deployed in southern Lebanon.
Netanyahu hit back at Macron’s comments later on Tuesday, saying the country was established by the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, not by a UN decision.
He also said that among those who fought for Israel in 1948 were French Jews, who were deported to death camps after being rounded up by the collaborationist Vichy regime that ruled France during the Nazi occupation in World War II.
“A reminder to the President of France: It was not a UN resolution that established the State of Israel, but the victory achieved in the war of independence with the blood of heroic fighters, many of whom were Holocaust survivors – including Were the Vichy regime in France,” Netanyahu said.
On Tuesday, a description of the phone call between the two men released by the French president’s office – which was sent overnight, several hours after the conversation took place – made clear the acrimonious nature of the conversation.
Macron told Netanyahu that he “condemns the indiscriminate Israeli attacks that increase the already unbearable human death toll in Gaza, as in Lebanon”.
‘What does it mean?’
But Macron’s comments on Israel’s creation also caused concern within the Jewish community in France.
Yonathan Arfi, president of the Council of Representatives of French Jewish Institutions (CRIF), a leading group, said the comments “if confirmed” would be “both a historical and political error”.
He said such comments ignored “the centuries-old history of Zionism”, the movement that aimed to create a Jewish homeland.
“At a time when anti-Semitism breeds anti-Semitism, these comments dangerously strengthen the ranks of those who oppose the legitimacy of Israel’s right to exist,” he wrote on X.
Caroline Yadan, a lawmaker from Macron’s centrist party, said the comments made in the president’s name were “inexcusable”.
“To limit Israel to a single UN decision is to deny the history of the Jewish people and its legitimate and historic connection to this land,” he wrote on X. Undo? Is this a warning?”
“Macron’s words have caused trouble in Macron,” the leftist daily Liberation said, using colloquialism common to Macron’s supporters.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
