French President Emmanuel Macron warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against reoccupying Gaza and urged him to seize what he called a “historic opportunity” to achieve lasting peace through the creation of a Palestinian state, according to a letter sent this week and obtained by Ynet.
In the six-page document, dated Aug. 26, Macron responded to a sharply worded letter Netanyahu sent earlier this month accusing France of fueling antisemitism through its recognition of Palestinian statehood. Macron rejected the charge as an "offense to France as a whole” and defended his government’s record in protecting French Jews, including mobilizing 15,000 police officers to secure synagogues and community sites after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
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French President Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
(Photo: Yves HERMAN / AFP, Abir SULTAN / AFP)
“The fight against antisemitism must not be weaponized,” Macron wrote, recalling that in 2017 he became the first French president to officially endorse the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism. He said France remains committed to Jewish security but added that the definition “cannot excuse Israel for the policies it is conducting today in Gaza and the Palestinian territories.”
Macron’s letter combined sharp criticism of Israel’s military campaign with a broader call for diplomacy. He said the occupation of Gaza, the forced displacement and starvation of Palestinians and the annexation of the West Bank would never deliver victory. “On the contrary, these actions will only make your country more isolated, embolden those who use them as a pretext for antisemitism and endanger Jewish communities around the world,” he wrote.
The French leader argued that only a two-state solution could guarantee Israel’s long-term security and regional integration. He said France, working with Saudi Arabia and other Arab and Western governments, had already begun planning for “the day after” in Gaza, including temporary international security arrangements, the disarmament of Hamas and reconstruction of the devastated territory.
“This path is difficult, but it gives Israel a powerful and new hand over its future: a broad normalization in the Muslim world; the end of a long-lasting conflict; the end of a serious worsening of Israel’s moral image,” Macron wrote. “France cannot resign itself to see a friend like Israel descend into a spiral of violence … turning its back on the opportunity provided by history today.”
Macron condemned Hamas as a terrorist organization that “must never again be a threat to Israel, nor play any role in the future governance of Gaza.” He cited the “barbaric images” of Israeli hostage Evyatar David as further evidence that Hamas sought to provoke Israel into “irreversible decisions” that would only prolong war.
In closing, Macron called on Netanyahu to “end the desperate race of a murderous and illegal permanent war in Gaza” and to halt settlement expansion in the West Bank. “France will always be a friend of Israel and the Palestinians,” he wrote, urging the Israeli leader to take the “outstretched hand of international partners who are ready to work towards a peaceful, secure and prosperous future for Israel and the region.”
Netanyahu had written to Macron on Aug. 17 accusing him of “igniting the flames of antisemitism” by supporting Palestinian statehood and warning that such recognition “rewards Hamas terror.” He cited a surge of antisemitic incidents in France and said Macron’s position endangered both French Jews and Israeli security.