Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday that he opposes a unilateral cease-fire in Lebanon.
Netanyahu emphasized that Israel’s actions aim to eliminate Hezbollah’s threat and ensure the safe return of northern residents.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Emmanuel Macron
(Photo: Marc Israel Sellem, AFP)
The phone call followed a report in French newspaper Le Parisien that claimed that Macron criticized the Israeli leader in a closed government meeting, saying that Israel was created by a UN decision and thus cannot disregard UN resolutions.
In response, Netanyahu's office issued a statement criticizing Macron's remarks and evoking the French government's collaboration with the Nazis occupation during World War II.
"A reminder to the president of France: Israel was not established by a UN resolution, but through the victory achieved in the War of Independence, paid for with the blood of heroic fighters, many of whom were Holocaust survivors—including from the Vichy regime in France," the statement read.
"It is also worth noting that in recent decades, the UN has passed hundreds of anti-Israel resolutions aimed at undermining the legitimacy of the world’s only Jewish state and its right to defend itself."
Earlier this month, Macron urged a halt to arms deliveries to Israel, which has come under scrutiny over its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza and mounting civilian death toll.
"I think that today, the priority is that we return to a political solution, that we stop delivering weapons to fight in Gaza," Macron told broadcaster France Inter. "France is not delivering any," he added during the pre-recorded interview.
Macron reiterated his demand for a cease-fire in a call with Netanyahu the next day. Following the conversation, Netanyahu's office responded by emphasizing that, given Iran's backing of terror groups, Israel expects its allies to support its efforts, not impose restrictions that would ultimately bolster "Iran's axis of evil."
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