Emmanuel Macron judged on Friday “completely unacceptable” that UN peacekeepers were “deliberately targeted by the Israeli armed forces” in southern Lebanon and warned that France “will not tolerate” new shots after those of the last two days.
“Everything that happens in the Middle East has a decisive impact on the entire region”
“We condemn it. We do not tolerate it and will not tolerate it happening again,” said the French president during a summit in Cyprus of the Mediterranean countries of the European Union, whom he “thanked” for having had “a very clear word with us on this subject”. These Med9 countries (France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Croatia, Slovenia, Cyprus and Malta) called, with regard to the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, for “an end to hostilities and a resumption of discussions” in order to “to find a just and lasting solution in our region,” reported Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides at the end of the sessions.
“Everything that happens in the Middle East has a decisive impact on the entire region,” he added, thanking King Abdullah II of Jordan who participated in part of the meeting in Paphos, in the west of the island. This “ceasefire is essential both in Gaza and in Lebanon”, insisted Emmanuel Macron to the press. “It is necessary now, both for our hostages” still held by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas for a year, “for the civilian populations victims of violence and to avoid regional contamination which is at work and which threatens the stability of the entire region and beyond,” said the French president.
“This is also the reason why France has called for an end to exports of arms that are used in these theaters of war. Other leaders here have done the same. We all know it, “is the only lever that can put an end to it today,” he continued. “This is in no way a call to disarm Israel against the threats against this country and this friendly people,” he added, although his remarks to this effect last week had been strongly denounced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Spain launched a similar appeal on Friday.
