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Israel must stop killing babies and women in Gaza, French President Emmanuel Macron .
He declared that there was “no justification” for the bombing in an exclusive interview at the Élysée Palace, adding that Israel would gain from a truce.
He noted that whilst acknowledging Israel’s right to self-defense, “we do urge them to stop this bombing” in Gaza.
However, he also emphasized that France “clearly condemns” Hamas’s “terrorist” activities.
Like Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other Western countries, France views Hamas as a terrorist organization.
When questioned about whether he wanted other world leaders to support his calls for a ceasefire, including those in the US and the UK, he said, “I hope they will.”
Israel claims that it follows international law when attacking military targets and that it takes precautions to lessen the number of civilian casualties by alerting people in advance and urging them to flee.
Speaking about the conflict in Gaza the day after a conference on humanitarian aid was held in Paris, Mr. Macron stated that all of the governments and agencies in attendance at the meeting had come to the “clear conclusion” that the only option available to them was to first implement a humanitarian pause before a ceasefire that would allow them to protect all civilians who had no connection to terrorists.
“De facto: civilians are bombarded today; this is true. These women, these children, these elderly people are bombed to death. Thus, there is no justification and no legality for such. Thus, we do implore Israel to halt.”
He declared that determining whether or not international law had been broken was not his place.
‘We share Israel’s pain’
In a swift response to Mr. Macron’s remarks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that countries had to denounce Hamas, not Israel.
According to a statement from Mr. Netanyahu’s office, “the crimes that Hamas [is] committing today in Gaza will be committed tomorrow in Paris, New York, and anywhere in the world.”
After the first day of the annual Paris Peace Forum, President Macron spoke with reporters about a variety of topics, including:
- A fear that violence will spread from the Middle East to France and a call for all French citizens to stand “united against antisemitism”
- Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, claiming that France had a “duty” to support it, but hinting that there might be a time for “fair and good negotiations” with Moscow; the dangers of climate change, claiming that it is driving people worldwide toward “terrorism”; and extremism online, claiming that Google and Facebook’s parent company Meta “just don’t deliver” on moderation.
Speaking first of Gaza, Mr. Macron declared that France “clearly condemns” the strikes carried out by Hamas on Israel on October 7, which set off the war. In an unprecedented cross-border attack that day, Hamas terrorists killed over 1,200 people and kidnapped 240 others.
“Yes, we are in anguish with [Israel]. Furthermore, we do support their desire to eradicate terrorism. In France, we understand what terrorism entails.” However, he declared that there was “no justification” for the bombardment of Gaza’s civilian population.
Given our democratic ideals, it is of utmost importance to each and every one of us. Realizing that every life matters is crucial for both Israel’s security in the medium to long term.
He declined to acknowledge that Israel had violated international law in Gaza when pressed. “I’m not the arbiter. “I am the head of state,” he declared, adding that it was inappropriate to criticize Israel in this way, calling it “a partner and a friend,” only one month after an attack on the country.
Macron, however, disagreed, stating that Israel should not “protect [itself] by having a large bombing of Gaza” because this would just fuel “resentment and bad feelings” in the region and prolong the conflict.
Following nearly two weeks of Israel’s main ground offensive into the territory and a month of Israeli bombardment, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry announced on Friday that 11,078 people had died, while 1.5 million had been injured.
As it continues its attack, Israel has announced that it will begin daily four-hour military pauses in portions of northern Gaza. The pauses, the minister of defense emphasized, would be “localized” and “not detract from the war fighting.”
Condemn antisemitism ‘without ambiguity’
President Macron urged all French citizens to denounce antisemitic acts “without ambiguity” ahead of Sunday’s antisemitism march, which a sizable portion of the country’s political class is expected to attend.
Speaking to the largest Muslim and Jewish communities in Europe, he warned that France was facing a wave of antisemitism that required all French people to “share the pain or the compassion of Palestinians” and to unite against it.
After that, Mr. Macron discussed other international concerns, such as Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
He warned that “you will have a new imperial power” in Europe if Russia were to win its war, one that could endanger not just Georgia and Kazakhstan but the entire continent.
“Because, definitely, it’s imperialism and colonialism that Russia is doing [in Ukraine],” he stated.
According to the French president, it is the “duty” of his nation and all nations to aid Ukraine in defending itself. However, he added that the upcoming month would be crucial as it battles to recover territory lost to counteroffensive operations.
He emphasized that Kyiv alone made the decision to engage, saying it was “not yet” the right time for Ukraine to approach the table. A time to “have fair and good negotiations, and to come back to the table and find a solution with Russia” might, however, eventually arrive, he continued.
Mr. Macron also spoke about internet radicalism, which was a major theme of the Paris Peace Forum. He specifically called out Google and Facebook’s parent firm Meta, claiming that both “simply don’t deliver” on their pledges to control hate speech on their networks.
Although he claimed TikTok had increased the number of moderators for its French-language content, he called it a “shame” that many online platforms lacked enough moderators for French-language content and pledged to “push them” on the matter.
Additionally, he said that terrorism was being caused by climate change in some regions of the world, citing the effects of global warming, such as reduced water levels at Lake Chad in West Africa.
As a result of the changing climate, many families that depended on fishing suffered… Numerous species have abruptly vanished. And it gave rise to politics that encouraged terrorism in a large number of people.”
But Mr. Macron said that he considered his role as head of state as “a chance and an honour to have responsibilities” when asked whether he ever felt depressed by the sheer amount of problems facing the world.
“To address global concerns, worldwide cooperation is necessary… This is a special opportunity.
But Mr. Macron said that he considered his role as head of state as “a chance and an honour to have responsibilities” when asked whether he ever felt depressed by the sheer amount of problems facing the world.
“To address global concerns, worldwide cooperation is necessary… This is a special opportunity.
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