Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz warned on Monday that if France took unilateral action regarding the Palestinian issue, Israel would not be able to cooperate with it on the Lebanese front. The warning was addressed to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot during a solidarity visit to Israel marking the first anniversary of the October 7 massacre.
These statements come days after French President Emmanuel Macron’s call for an embargo on weapons used by Israel in its war in Gaza, a move sharply criticized by Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Friends are not calling for an embargo; they are helping in difficult times,” Katz told his French counterpart, according to a statement released by his office after the meeting. He added that if Israel withdrew from the West Bank, it would leave Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas vulnerable to a rapid takeover by Hamas and Iran, as was the case in Gaza in 2007.
Regarding Lebanon, Katz stressed: “There will be no ceasefire that does not serve Israeli and French interests. A ceasefire will only be possible when residents of northern Israel can return home safely and only after Hezbollah has withdrawn north of the Litani River and disarmed.”
The Israeli minister also insisted on the need to effectively implement UN Security Council Resolutions 1701 and 1559 in Lebanon, threatening unilateral action by Israel if such mechanisms were not put in place.
On the Iranian front, Katz promised a strong response from Israel to last week’s Iranian ballistic missile attack. He urged the international community to seize this moment to end Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its support for terrorism.
The comments follow Macron’s call to stop arms deliveries to Israel, a move Netanyahu also criticized in a phone call with the French leader on Sunday. Netanyahu’s office reiterated that Israel “expects its friends to stand behind it and not impose restrictions that would only strengthen the Iranian axis of evil.”
