Israel’s Foreign Ministry has accused French President Emmanuel Macron of being on a “crusade against the Jewish state,” after he urged the world to get tough with Israel if the humanitarian situation in Gaza does not improve.
“There is no humanitarian blockade. This is a blatant lie,” the ministry said, in defense of its control over the flow of aid into the enclave.
“But instead of pressuring jihadist terrorists, Macron wants to reward them with a Palestinian state. No doubt his national holiday will be October 7,” the message went, referring to the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel that launched the war in Gaza.
During a three-hour TV interview earlier this month, Macron said Europe should hold discussions about sanctioning Israel “in the context of the humanitarian situation in Gaza,” where hundreds of thousands are now estimated to be starving.
“What he’s doing is shameful,” Macron said of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an interview on TF1 television.
Those remarks were met with a quick response from Netanyahu, who said Macron “once again chose to stand” with Hamas.
After the collapse of a former ceasefire with Hamas in March, Israel blockaded Gaza, and no aid was allowed into the Strip for almost three months.
That has eased in recent days but aid groups still warn of widespread hunger and imminent famine across most of Gaza.
Over a week ago, the UK government confirmed it was suspending free trade talks with Israel and had imposed fresh sanctions on West Bank settlements as Westminster ratcheted up its criticism of the ongoing Gaza military operation.
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 his joining Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in a 19 May joint denunciation that was among the most forceful condemnations 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” unless Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government stopped its resumed military operation and significantly lift restrictions on humanitarian aid.
Criticism from Germany
And on 26 May, Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz issued a rare rebuke to Israel and its move to take over most of Gaza, stating he “no longer understands” the final goal.
“The Israeli government must do nothing that even its best friends are no longer ready to accept,” Merz said at the WDR Europaforum in Berlin.
“What the Israeli army is currently doing in the Gaza Strip, I frankly no longer understand with what goal,” he added.
The fighting began after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people, most of them civilians.
Hamas abducted 251 people as hostages, and is currently detaining 58, two thirds of whom are believed to still be alive. A subsequent Israeli invasion has already killed at least 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry whose count does not discriminate between fighters and civilians.
