French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday called for a halt to arms supplies to Israel for use in Gaza, drawing a sharp reaction from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Macron also criticized Netanyahu’s decision to send troops into ground operations in Lebanon.
“I think the priority today is that we return to a political solution, that we stop delivering weapons to fight in Gaza,” Macron told French broadcaster France Inter.
“France is not delivering any results,” he said during a recorded interview Tuesday.
Macron reiterated his concern over the continuing conflict in Gaza despite repeated calls for a ceasefire.
“I feel like we’re not being heard,” he said. “I think this is a mistake, which also involves Israel’s security,” he said. He said the war was giving rise to “hatred”.
His comments drew a swift response from Netanyahu.
“As Israel battles the forces of barbarism led by Iran, all civilized countries must stand firmly by Israel’s side,” Netanyahu said in a statement issued from his office.
“Yet, President Macron and other Western leaders are now calling for an arms embargo against Israel. They should be ashamed.”
The statement said Israel is waging a war on multiple fronts against archenemy Iran-backed groups.
Macron’s office responded with a statement of its own on Saturday.
It said France is a “firm friend of Israel”, and described Netanyahu’s reaction as “excessive and at odds with the friendship between France and Israel”.
Qatar, a key mediator in the Gaza ceasefire talks, said Macron’s statement was “an important and commendable step towards stopping the war”.
Jordan welcomed the French leader’s comments and stressed “the importance of imposing a complete ban on arms exports to Israel” and the “real consequences” of the country’s actions.
call for ceasefire
In his interview, Macron also said that his “priority” was to avoid escalating tensions in Lebanon.
“Lebanon cannot become the new Gaza,” he said.
And he returned to the topic on Saturday in a speech to a conference of French-speaking countries in Paris.
While both Paris and Washington had called for a ceasefire, Macron said, “I regret that Prime Minister Netanyahu has chosen another option, especially taking this responsibility for ground operations on Lebanese soil.”
The 88 members of the International Organization of la Francophonie (OIF), including France and Canada, have called for an “immediate and permanent” ceasefire in Lebanon, he said.
But Macron affirmed Israel’s right to self-defense and said on Monday he would meet relatives of Franco-Israeli hostages in Gaza.
On Monday, Israel marks the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that sparked the Gaza war and has now engulfed neighboring Lebanon, sparking a dangerous regional crisis.
According to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures, the attack killed 1,205 people, mostly civilians, including hostages who died in captivity. Israel’s retaliatory strikes on Gaza have so far killed at least 41,825 people, most of them civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory. The United Nations has said that these figures are reliable.
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