Foreign Minister Israel Katz warned on Monday that if France takes unilateral actions regarding the Palestinian issue, Israel would be unable to cooperate with France on the Lebanese front.
The warning, issued to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot during a solidarity visit to Israel marking the one-year anniversary of the October 7 massacre, came just days after French President Emmanuel Macron called for an arms embargo on weapons used by Israel in its war in Gaza, a move that Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, heavily criticized.
2 View gallery
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and Foreign Minister Israel Katz
(Photo: Shlomi Amsalem, GPO)
"Friends don’t call for an embargo; they help in times of hardship," Katz told his French counterpart according to a statement issued by his office after the meeting.
He added that if Israel withdrew from the West Bank, it would leave Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas vulnerable to a swift takeover by Hamas and Iran, just as occurred in Gaza in 2007.
"There will be no cease-fire that doesn’t serve Israeli and French interests,” Katz added. “A cease-fire will only be possible when northern Israeli residents can safely return to their homes and only after Hezbollah withdraws north of the Litani River and disarms."
Katz also highlighted the need for effective enforcement of UN Security Council Resolutions 1701 and 1559 in Lebanon, warning that if such mechanisms aren't established, Israel would act independently to enforce them. He stressed that Israel's actions are solely focused on securing its citizens and are not intended to interfere in Lebanon’s internal affairs.
Responding to a question from Barrot, Katz clarified that Israel does not intend to evacuate Beirut residents but will target Hezbollah’s terror hubs within the city. He also called on France to leverage Hezbollah’s recent setbacks and push for the election of a new president in Lebanon, seeing an opportunity to shift the balance of power in the country.
On the Iranian front, Katz vowed that Israel would respond forcefully to last week's Iranian ballistic missile attack, noting that Hezbollah, Iran's primary proxy in the region, has suffered significant blows. He urged the international community to seize the moment to halt Iran's nuclear ambitions and support for terrorism.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's message to French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday night
(Video: GPO)
Katz’s comments follow Macron’s call for a halt to arms deliveries to Israel, a move that Prime Minister Netanyahu also criticized during 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 will only strengthen the Iranian axis of evil."
Government officials were not surprised by Macron's words, which are a direct continuation of the French line, which already supported the non-binding resolution initiated by the Palestinians at the UN General Assembly on September 18, which called for the imposition of an arms embargo on Israel.
However, French defense exports to Israel have been minimal in comparison to its global defense sales, amounting to just 20 million euros annually over the past decade.
Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: