From one end of the Mediterranean to the other, lively exchanges are taking place between France and Israel. A discreet ally until now, it seems that Emmanuel Macron has found his voice against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while Israel is leading a ground offensive against the pro-Iranian movement Hezbollah in southern Lebanon where troops are deployed. Peacekeepers.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must not “free himself from UN decisions”, Emmanuel Macron warned this Tuesday, October 15 according to participants in the Council of Ministers, recalling that it is a UN resolution which “created” the State of Israel. “Netanyahu must not forget that his country was created by a UN decision,” said the head of state, referring to the vote in November 1947 by the United Nations General Assembly on the land-sharing plan. Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state.
The statement by the French head of state comes in a context where Benyamin Netanyahu has for several days ordered the staff of the UN peace mission (UNIFIL), numbering 10,000 including 700 French, to leave the area, accusing Hezbollah to use “UNIFIL positions as cover to carry out its attacks” against Israel. However, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 affirms that only the Lebanese army and this UN peace mission must be deployed in southern Lebanon and stipulates the cessation of hostilities on both sides of the border. “A reminder to the President of France: it was not the UN resolution that established the State of Israel, but rather the victory achieved in the War of Independence with the blood of heroic fighters, many of whom were survivors of the Holocaust – notably of the Vichy regime in France,” Netanyahu said in a statement during the evening.
Verbal escalation
Friday October 11, Emmanuel Macron considered it “completely unacceptable” that UN peacekeepers were “deliberately targeted by the Israeli armed forces” in southern Lebanon, while UNIFIL soldiers were hit twice, at their surveillance post, causing several injuries. The French head of state also warned that France “will not tolerate” further shootings after those of the last two days. “We condemn it. We do not tolerate it and will not tolerate it happening again,” the French president said at a summit in Cyprus of Mediterranean European Union countries encouraging a ceasefire.
A week earlier, a few days before the anniversary of the October 7 massacres, Emmanuel Macron had called for an end to certain international arms deliveries to Israel. “If we call for a ceasefire, consistency means not providing the weapons of war.” “Shame,” Netanyahu replied immediately. That day, exchanges 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 Benyamin Netanyahu. Qatar, a key mediator in the talks on a ceasefire in Gaza, had nevertheless judged for its part that Emmanuel Macron’s declaration was “an important and appreciated step towards ending the war”. A call also welcomed by Jordan. However, relations between France and Israel seem to have never been so degraded.