Israel Denounces Emmanuel Macron Over Hamas West Bank Remarks

Israeli officials sharply denounced Emmanuel Macron after the French president stated during the 81st United Nations General Assembly that Hamas "has never been very active" in the West Bank. Macron argued that respect for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people is a prerequisite for Israeli security and described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as a "spectacle that shames us all."

The Prime Minister's Office of Israel dismissed the remarks as a "grotesque absurdity," while Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich accused Macron of lying. Israeli officials cited the recent killing of Netanel Shukron, a French-Israeli citizen, as evidence of Hamas's significant activity and influence in Judea and Samaria. Smotrich further claimed that Macron and the European Union desire the establishment of a "terrorist state" through the evacuation of settlements.

Following the backlash, French diplomatic sources clarified that Macron's remarks were mistranslated. They asserted that his original French phrase, "le Hamas n'a jamais sévi en Cisjordanie," was intended to mean that Hamas never ruled the West Bank, rather than claiming the group never operated there. The diplomatic tension follows a recent French decision to join Britain in imposing sanctions on products from Israeli settlements.