Gaza: Macron calls for not delivering certain weapons to Israel, Netanyahu replies “shame”

“If we call for a ceasefire, coherence means not supplying weapons of war”. Emmanuel Macron called on Saturday to halt deliveries to Israel of weapons used in Gaza, provoking the anger of the Israeli Prime Minister two days before the anniversary of the October 7 attacks.

The discussions quickly took on the appearance of a crisis between the two countries. So much so that the Elysée published a clarification in the evening assuring that France “is the unwavering friend of Israel” and deploring the “excessive” words of Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Shame”, the Israeli leader had raged at the French president and other Westerners calling for arms embargoes against his country.

Emmanuel Macron first raised the issue of weapons during an interview on France Inter radio, recorded on Monday and broadcast on Saturday. “I think that today, the priority is that we return to a political solution, that we stop supplying weapons to lead the fighting in Gaza.”

“France is not supplying any,” he immediately clarified, directly targeting the United States a month before the American election.

“I think that those who supply them cannot call for a ceasefire every day alongside us and continue to supply them,” he then hammered home at a press conference, at the close of a Francophonie summit in Paris.

Almost at the same time, the Israeli army declared its forces 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,” Benjamin Netanyahu also said.

Israel commemorates Monday the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on its territory, which shocked the country and triggered the war in the Gaza Strip, which has since spread to neighboring Lebanon against Hezbollah.

The death toll from this attack stands at 1,205, mostly civilians, shot dead, burned alive or mutilated according to an AFP count. A year later, 97 hostages are still being held captive, including 33 declared dead.

In retaliation, Israel launched a military operation that has so far left at least 41,825 dead in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-led Gaza government.

The French president also criticized Israeli ground operations in Lebanon, in addition to the targeted bombings against Hezbollah, an ally of Iran and supporter of Hamas, while reaffirming the right of the Hebrew state to security.

– “A mistake” –

“I regret that Prime Minister Netanyahu made another choice (than the ceasefire proposed by Paris and Washington, editor's note), took this responsibility, in particular for ground operations on Lebanese soil,” he declared.

Insisting on the “consistency” of the French position, he also reiterated the “solidarity (of Paris) with security of Israel”.

In its clarification, the French presidency recalled that France had “mobilized its military resources” to help intercept Iranian missiles fired against Israel during the massive attack carried out earlier this week.

The head of state also announced that he would receive on Monday at the Elysée the families of Franco-Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

Four months after the Hamas attack, he had already paid tribute on January 7 to the French victims – at least 43 – of what he called “the greatest anti-Semitic massacre of our century”, during a ceremony at Les Invalides.

At the UN podium on September 25, the French president had put Israel and Hezbollah back to back by asking them to stop their hostilities in Lebanon.

Hezbollah, which engaged in hostilities on the border with Israel from the start of the offensive in Gaza, has been taking “the unbearable risk of dragging Lebanon into war for too long,” he insisted.

In Gaza, Benjamin Netanyahu is making “a mistake, including for the security of Israel tomorrow,” the head of state added on France Inter, warning against “a resentment that is being born, a hatred that is being fueled by this.”

The international community fears a regional conflagration as Iran fired nearly 200 missiles toward Israel on Tuesday, saying it was responding to the assassination of Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh.

Israel is “preparing a response,” an Israeli military official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

All reproduction and representation rights reserved. © (2024) Agence France-Presse