The French president, who arrived in Israel on Tuesday morning, met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He did not hesitate to mention the Palestinian cause.
He wishes to demonstrate France’s support for Israel. After meeting Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Emmanuel Macron met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday October 24 in Jerusalem. At the end of this bilateral meeting, he presented all the “condolences from France”. “I bring you today the emotion and solidarity of the French”declared the head of state. “It’s a black page in our own history”he added, mentioning the Franco-Israeli victims who have died in attacks since the start of the conflict.
Earlier in the dayhe also recalled on the social network than 30 “compatriots” French “were murdered on October 7” and “Nine others are still missing.” The Elysée specifies that the presumption that they are hostages is strong, without being able to confirm it at present. For his part, Benjamin Netanyahu denounced “the worst act committed since the Holocaust”, ensuring that his country is “at war, civilization against barbarism”.
“We will do everything possible to free the hostages and dismantle Hamas.”
Benjamin NetanyahuOctober 24, 2023 in Jerusalem
After the unprecedented attack perpetrated on October 7 by Hamas against Israel, Emmanuel Macron said he feared “a regional conflagration from which everyone would lose”. He called “Hezbollah, the Iranian regime, the Houthis in Yemen” to “not take the reckless risk of opening new fronts”, while the situation is very tense on the border with Lebanon. The French president also proposed that the international coalition currently deployed in Iraq and Syria to fight against the Islamic State “can also fight against Hamas”.
Defense of “the Palestinian cause”
Another striking statement from his speech: facing Benjamin Netanyahu, Emmanuel Macron did not hesitate to defend “the Palestinian cause”. “It must be heard with reason”, he pleaded, emphasizing the importance of “allow access for aid, restore electricity to hospitals, the sick and the injured.”
“The struggle must be merciless, but not without rules.”
Emmanuel MacronOctober 24, 2023 in Jerusalem
He called “to a decisive relaunch of the political process with the Palestinians”. “I will be tomorrow with several leaders of the region to also very concretely move forward on the agenda that we have set ourselves”, declared the French head of state. He will also travel to Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, late Tuesday. During this trip, Emmanuel Macron will meet Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, according to information from franceinfo.