French President Emmanuel Macron sharply criticized Israel at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, saying Hamas had “never caused trouble” in the West Bank and arguing that Israeli policies there were undermining both Palestinian rights and Israel’s own security.
In the UN’s simultaneous English interpretation, Macron was rendered as saying: “Look at what is happening in the West Bank, where every day violations are taking place. In the name of what? Hamas has never caused trouble in the West Bank!”
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Macron claims Hamas ‘never caused trouble’ in West Bank as he condemns Israel at UN
(Photo: TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)
The assertion contrasts with documented Hamas activity in the territory. Israeli security authorities have for years reported Hamas cells and operatives in the West Bank, including plots to carry out attacks. In one recent case, Israeli officials identified Qadri Samara, accused of killing Netanel Shakron at a spring near Neve Tzuf on the eve of Yom Kippur, as a Hamas operative. The suspect was captured several hours later at a medical facility in Ramallah.
During Yom Kippur, Israeli forces also arrested two Palestinians in Qabatiya whom the IDF said were preparing an imminent attack. The military did not publicly identify them in its initial account as Hamas members.
Israeli authorities have separately uncovered Hamas-linked infrastructure and alleged attack plots in the West Bank over the years. The Shin Bet, for example, has previously announced the disruption of Hamas cells that it said were directed from abroad to carry out attacks.
Macron’s broader argument focused on Israeli settlement policy and settler violence, which France says threaten the possibility of a Palestinian state. Earlier this month, France, Britain and Canada announced plans for measures targeting settlement-related activity, saying settlement expansion and increasing settler violence pose an “urgent threat” to a two-state solution.
Macron told the General Assembly that developments in the West Bank were making a viable Palestinian state increasingly difficult to achieve.
He argued that Palestinian statehood was not only a matter of Palestinian rights but also a condition for Israel’s long-term security.
Macron criticizes Israel over West Bank, questions Gaza ‘peace’ in UN address
(Photo: ANGELA WEISS / AFP)
“Anyone who claims that Israel’s security depends on violating the sovereignty of all its neighbors is making a fatal mistake,” Macron said. “They are weakening Israel’s security.”
Macron also condemned the rise in settler violence in the West Bank, saying it was undermining Palestinians’ legitimate right to national existence.
Macron takes veiled swipe at Trump over Gaza
The French president also appeared to criticize U.S. President Donald Trump’s claims of having brought peace to Gaza.
Macron recalled that France was among a group of countries that recognized a Palestinian state a year ago and acknowledged criticism that recognition had changed little on the ground.
“I hear the cynicism of some people: ‘Recognition on paper, look at the reality,’” he said.
But, he argued, the international community’s credibility was equally at stake if it remained passive over conditions in Gaza.
“There are those who boast of a supposed ‘peace,’ but that peace did not open the humanitarian corridors even for a second,” Macron said. “Should we simply watch this spectacle that shames us all? Never.”
Macron has made the two-state solution a central element of France’s Middle East policy. France formally recognized a Palestinian state at the UN in September 2025, while at the same time condemning Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack and calling for the group to be disarmed and excluded from governing a future Palestinian state.
France has also repeatedly stressed that its criticism of Israeli policy does not alter its commitment to Israel’s security. In a joint statement this month, Macron and the British and Canadian prime ministers reiterated support for “a safe and secure Israel, living alongside a safe and secure Palestine.”