Emmanuel Macron on 'crusade against the Jewish state,' Israel says
Israel's Foreign Ministry has accused French President Emmanuel Macron of being on a "crusade against the Jewish state," after he urged the international community to harden its stance towards Israel if the humanitarian situation in Gaza doesn't improve.
"There is no humanitarian blockade. This is a blatant lie," the ministry said, defending its control over the flow of aid into the enclave.
"But instead of putting pressure on jihadist terrorists, Macron wants to reward them with a Palestinian state. No doubt his national holiday will be October 7," the statement said, referring to the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.
During a three-hour televised interview earlier in May, Macron said Europe should consider sanctioning Israel over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands are thought to be now facing starvation.
"What he's doing is shameful," Macron said of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the interview on TF1 television.
Those remarks sparked an immediate rebuke from Netanyahu, who said Macron "once again chose to stand" with Hamas.
After a previous ceasefire with Hamas collapsed in March, Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza, with no aid allowed into the Strip for almost three months.
That situation has eased slightly in recent days but aid organisations still warn of widespread hunger and imminent famine across most of Gaza.
Just over a week ago, the UK government said it was suspending free trade negotiations with Israel and had introduced new sanctions on settlements in the West Bank as Westminster ramped up its criticism of the ongoing military operation in Gaza.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK's existing trade agreement with Israel remains in effect but the government couldn't continue discussions with an administration pursuing what he called "egregious" policies in the two territories.
"I want to put on record today that we're horrified by the escalation from Israel," Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Parliament in London.
Those remarks followed a joint condemnation he issued on 19 May with Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney that marked one of the most significant criticisms by close allies of Israel's handling of the war in Gaza and its actions in the West Bank.
The three leaders threatened to take "concrete actions" if the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not cease its renewed military offensive and significantly lift restrictions on humanitarian aid.
And on 26 May, Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz issued a rare criticism of Israel and its plans to take control of most of Gaza, stating he "no longer understands" the end goal.
"The Israeli government must not do anything that even its best friends are no longer willing to accept," said Merz at the WDR Europaforum in Berlin.
"What the Israeli army is now doing in the Gaza Strip, I frankly no longer understand with what goal," he added.
The war began when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people, most of them civilians.
Hamas took 251 people as hostages, and is currently holding 58, of whom two thirds are believed to still be alive. A subsequent Israeli offensive has to date killed at least 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry whose figures do not distinguish between fighters and civilians.
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