Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded on Thursday evening to French President Emmanuel Macron's announcement that France would officially recognize the “State of Palestine”.
"We strongly condemn President Macron’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state next to Tel Aviv in the wake of the October 7 massacre. Such a move rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became. A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel — not to live in peace beside it. Let’s be clear: the Palestinians do not seek a state alongside Israel; they seek a state instead of Israel," he said.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar criticized Macron and said, “The French President's pretension to create by mere words an illusory arrangement in our land is ridiculous and not serious. His statement this evening shows that all the conditions that he himself set a few weeks ago - have evaporated. All that remains is the illusory state he presumes to establish.”
“A Palestinian state will be a Hamas state, just as the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip twenty years ago led to Hamas taking control of it,” added Sa’ar.
Other Israeli leaders similarly blasted Macron’s announcement on Thursday evening.
“Macron just awarded Hamas a prize for committing the October 7 massacre. This shameful act is nothing less than a betrayal by one of the so-called ‘leaders’ of the free world. It sends a chilling message: terrorism pays off,” said Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana.
“Emmanuel Macron will be remembered as a collaborator with evil - on the wrong side of history. I’m ashamed to have met this man. I love France. It deserves more courageous leadership,” he added.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said, "Macron's announcement of his intention to recognize a Palestinian state is a disgrace and a surrender to terrorism, rewarding and emboldening the murderers and rapists of Hamas, who committed the most horrific massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Instead of standing with Israel at this critical moment, the French president is acting to weaken it."
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich responded to Macron's announcement and said, "I thank President Macron for giving us a reason to finally apply Israeli sovereignty over the homeland's territories in Judea and Samaria, and to permanently toss the idea of establishing an Arab terror state in the heart of the Land of Israel into the dustbin of history. This will be our appropriate Zionist response to the unilateral coercion attempts by Macron and his partners."
In his announcement on Thursday, Macron said, "Faithful to its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognize the State of Palestine.".
He added that a formal announcement will be made during the United Nations General Assembly in September.
Addressing the ongoing conflict, Macron emphasized the urgent need to end the war in Gaza and provide aid to civilians. "The urgency today is that the war in Gaza must end and that the civilian population must be rescued," he stated.
"Peace is possible," he said, outlining the steps he believes are essential to achieving it: "There must be an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and massive humanitarian aid for the population of Gaza. Hamas must also be demilitarized, Gaza must be secured and rebuilt. Finally, the State of Palestine must be built, its viability ensured, and through its acceptance of demilitarization and full recognition of Israel, it must contribute to the security of all in the Middle East."
Macron concluded by asserting, "There is no alternative."
3 comments:
Someone had a better zog than me. They are saying bsheim John Catsimatidis than Mr Macron is being such a sissy over Israel that he should have to prove he’s actually a man instead of a woman
Yitzy Frankfurter here. I have no qualms that DIN is bashing Macron as a dunce. But there’s only one dunce cap to go around and I’m not sharing it with that escargot fresser!
Perhaps it will backfire. His statement clearly notes that Hamas must diarm and release the hostages and that Palestine cannot have an army and must accept Israel as a peaceful, Jewish neighbour. So once again, he's inviting someone to dinner, knowing they won't show up.
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