French president responds to Israeli PM’s ‘erroneous’ allegations in relation to decision to recognise state of Palestine
Emmanuel Macron has hit out at Benjamin Netanyahu for his “abject” and “erroneous” remarks after Israel’s prime minister claimed that antisemitism had “surged” in France after the country’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state in September.
In a statement released late on Tuesday, the office of the French president pushed back against Netanyahu’s claim. “The analysis suggesting that France’s decision to recognise the state of Palestine in September is behind the rise in antisemitic violence in France is erroneous, abject, and will not go unanswered,” it said. “The current period calls for seriousness and responsibility, not generalisation and manipulation.”
Relations between the two leaders have been strained since July, when Macron announced that France would become the first major western power to recognise a Palestinian state at next month’s UN general assembly, in the hope of bringing peace to the region.
At the time, Netanyahu, who is wanted by the international criminal court over allegations of war crimes in Gaza, criticised the decision, saying that France “rewards terror”. He added: “A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel – not to live in peace beside it.”
