“If we call for a ceasefire, consistency means not providing the weapons of war”: Emmanuel Macron demanded on Saturday an end to deliveries to Israel of weapons used in Gaza, arousing the anger of the Israeli Prime Minister, before the anniversary of the October 7 attacks.
Exchanges quickly took on the appearance of a crisis between the two countries. So much so that the Elysée published an update in the evening ensuring that France “is the unwavering friend of Israel” and lamenting the words “excessive” de Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Shame”the Israeli leader raged to the French president and other Westerners calling for arms embargoes against his country.
Qatar, a key mediator in Gaza ceasefire talks, said Macron’s statement was “an important and appreciated step towards ending the war”. A call also welcomed by Jordan.
“I think that today, the priority is that we return to a political solution, that we stop delivering weapons to carry out the fighting in Gaza”Mr. Macron said during an interview with France Inter recorded on Monday and broadcast on Saturday. “France does not deliver any”he clarified, directly targeting the United States.
“I think that those who supply them cannot call every day alongside us for a ceasefire and continue to supply them”he then insisted during a press conference, at the end of a Francophonie summit in Paris.
Almost at the same time, the Israeli army declared itself on alert as the anniversary of October 7 approached, for fear of attacks.
“As Israel fights the forces of barbarism led by Iran, all civilized countries should stand firmly with Israel”said Mr. Netanyahu.
Monday marks the first anniversary of the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on its territory, which caused shock in the country and sparked the war in the Gaza Strip, which has since spread to neighboring Lebanon against Hezbollah .
In Gaza, Netanyahu commits “a mistake”, according to Macron
“I regret that Prime Minister Netanyahu made another choice (than the ceasefire proposed by Paris and Washington, editor’s note), in particular land operations on Lebanese soil”declared Macron. Insisting on the “consistency” of the French position, he also reaffirmed the “solidarity (of Paris) with the security of Israel”.
In its clarification, the French presidency recalled that Paris had “mobilized its military resources” to help intercept missiles fired Tuesday during a large-scale Iranian attack on Israel. The head of state also announced that he would receive the families of Franco-Israeli hostages held in Gaza on Monday at the Elysée.
He had already paid tribute on January 7 to the French victims – at least 43 – of what he described as “largest anti-Semitic massacre of our century”during a ceremony at Les Invalides.
At the UN podium, on September 25, Mr. Macron returned Israel and Hezbollah back to back, asking them to cease their hostilities.
Hezbollah, which has increased its firing on the Lebanese border with Israel since the start of the offensive in Gaza, takes “for too long the unbearable risk of dragging Lebanon into war”he insisted.
To Gaza, M. Netanyahu commits “a mistake, including for the security of Israel tomorrow”added the president on France Inter, warning against “a resentment that is being born, a hatred that is fueled by this.”
But the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (Crif) “strongly” deplored the words of Mr. Macron: “calling to deprive Israel of weapons is not playing the game of peace, it amounts to playing the game of Hamas and Hezbollah!”
This statement “also encourages rebellious France in its radicalism and its strategy of chaos in public debate”he denounced, after Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s call to “put Palestinian flags wherever possible” starting Tuesday.
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