Macron says Israel's offensive will lead to 'disaster'
Israel's plan "will drag the region into a permanent war," the French president posted on social media, reiterating his call for an "international stabilisation mission."
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Nahar Net
5 hours ago
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Macron denounces Netanyahu's 'abject' remarks that he fueled antisemitism
by Naharnet Newsdesk 20 August 2025, 15:58 French President Emmanuel Macron denounced Netanyahu's remarks as "abject" and "erroneous" in response to Israel Prime Minister's accusations that his intention to recognize a Palestinian state is fueling antisemitism. Tensions between Israel and traditional allies escalated in recent weeks following Macron's pledge last month — a move followed by Britain, Canada and Australia but strongly opposed by Israel. Macron's strong comments come as Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday brushed off Netanyahu's accusations that the Australian leader is a "weak politician who had betrayed Israel" by recognizing a Palestinian state. "The analysis that France's decision to recognize the state of Palestine in September explains the rise in antisemitic violence in France is erroneous, abject, and will not go unanswered," Macron's office said in a statement released on Tuesday evening. "The current period calls for seriousness and responsibility, not generalization and manipulation." Netanyahu wrote to Macron that antisemitism has "surged" in France since Macron's announcement that he will recognize a Palestinian state at the U.N. General Assembly next month, in a letter dated Monday seen by the Associated Press. "Your call for a Palestinian state pour fuels on this antisemitism fire," Netanyahu said. France is home to Western Europe's largest Jewish population, with an estimated 500,000 Jews — approximately 1% of the national population. In recent years, antisemitic incidents have surged in France, with a sharp increase reported in 2023 after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza. These include physical assaults, threats, vandalism, and harassment, prompting alarm among Jewish communities and leaders. "Violence against the Jewish community is unacceptable," the statement by Macron's office said, noting that the French president has systematically asked all his governments since 2017, and even more so since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, to "take the strongest possible action against the perpetrators of antisemitic acts." Last week, Israeli airline El Al said its Paris office was vandalized with anti-Israel graffiti, calling the act "deeply disturbing." In a separate incident, Macron pledged that no effort will be spared to track down and prosecute unknown attackers who chopped down an olive tree planted in homage to a French Jew murdered in 2006.
L'Orient-Le Jour
6 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Macron says Israel's offensive will lead to 'disaster'
French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that Israel's "military offensive" to conquer Gaza City "can only lead to a complete disaster for both peoples," after Israel's defence minister authorised the call-up of around 60,000 reservists. Israel's plan "will drag the region into a permanent war," the French president posted on social media, reiterating his call for an "international stabilisation mission."
Nahar Net
6 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Berri meets US delegation, criticizes US move to end UNIFIL's mission
by Naharnet Newsdesk 20 August 2025, 16:05 Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri met Wednesday in Ain el-Tineh with U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin and a congressional delegation from the Republican and Democratic parties. 'Despite the international efforts exerted, and the U.S. mediation in particular, to compel Israel to comply with international legitimacy and to implement the ceasefire agreement agreed on in November 2024 and Resolution 1701, we have been surprised by counter-efforts against Resolutions 425 and 1701 and against the ceasefire agreement from the same sponsor (Washington), targeting the presence of the UNIFIL forces and their mission,' Berri said during the meeting. Noting that 'the five-party Mechanism -- which contains the UNIFIL forces in its structure and has it as a main component of its work -- is headed by a U.S. general whose deputy is a French general,' the Speaker wondered how 'a party seeking to consolidate the ceasefire and end the war can target their very own efforts.' The United Nations Security Council began to debate Monday a resolution drafted by France to extend the U.N. peacekeeping force in south Lebanon for a year with the ultimate aim to withdraw it. Israel and the United States have reportedly opposed the renewal of the force's mandate, and it was unclear if the draft text has backing from Washington, which wields a veto on the Council. The text, first reported by Reuters, would "extend the mandate of UNIFIL until August 31, 2026" but "indicates its intention to work on a withdrawal of UNIFIL." That would be on the condition that Lebanon's government was the "sole provider of security in southern Lebanon... and that the parties agree on a comprehensive political arrangement." Under a truce that ended a recent war between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese army has been deploying in south Lebanon and dismantling the militant group's infrastructure there.
