Netanyahu feared for his safety in Paris march
Le Monde report says prime minister was highly nervous before joining world leaders in march against terrorism, expressed concern over lack of armor on bus.
French video footage which captured Netanyahu waiting for a bus to take him to the rally, cutting in line and nervously talking on the phone, has been cast in a new light after details emerged about the behind-the-scenes drama of the world leaders' participation in the march.
According to the report, Netanyahu stood at the corner of a yard, and put on a bulletproof vest with the help of one of his bodyguards. A French security guard working for the president then approached President Francois Hollande in order to give him instructions in the event of a security incident. "I'll be right in front of you, don't move around," the guard told the French president.
The French report claimed that Netanyahu was very nervous, and that he had expressed his concerns to the French president. "Did you check everything? Is the bus armored and bulletproof? Have the buildings along the route been checked?" Netanyahu asked. Hollande replied in the affirmative. However, according to the report, the bus was not armored and the route was not examined by security guards in advance.
The report further claimed that the Israeli prime minister expressed his dissatisfaction over the fact that the windows of the bus were plain glass, saying it exposed the leaders to danger. However, French officials had made it clear that they had deliberately chosen a vehicle without tinted windows so that the citizens walking alongside the vehicle would be able to see them.
Netanyahu, the magazine claimed, ignored instructions from the French guards and chose to surround himself with three security guards, unlike the other leaders who were each accompanied by a single guard.
The anti-terrorism march was held at noon on a Sunday. According to the magazine, Netanyahu informed the French he would attend the rally a day before it was scheduled to begin. The French president then reportedly asked his staff to contact Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. At around midnight, Abbas received a phone call from Hollande.
"Mahmoud, you know that I never ask anything of you. You have to come here. Your presence, together with Netanyahu, will make this march a rally of peace," the French president told Abbas.
The French, Ynet has learned, were not very enthusiastic about Netanyahu's participation in the rally. Ynet learned that the country's officials were angry that the prime minister attended the rally with two senior ministers and an MK - while most countries only sent one senior official, and created difficulties for the Israeli delegation.
Furthermore, the French Foreign Ministry had preferred that Netanyahu would not attend, as "his arrival could raise difficulties," Channel 2 television reported then. The French media, meanwhile, reported that Netanyahu's arrival in the French capital could divert the spotlight from the fight against terror, and instead center the attention on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
