French President Emmanuel Macron explored the possibility of making a surprise visit to Israel last week, ahead of the UN General Assembly, where France plans to recognize a Palestinian state — but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the idea and set a condition, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan 11 reported Wednesday.
According to former French member of Parliament Meyer Habib, Netanyahu conveyed that Macron would only be welcome in Israel if he retracted his plan to recognize Palestine. Macron, however, reportedly stood firm and refused Israel’s demand.
The diplomatic dispute spilled over to social media. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar attacked Macron on X, writing: “President Macron is very concerned about visas for senior Palestinian Authority officials. That’s what keeps him up at night. He doesn’t protest the rampant incitement in the PA’s education system against Israel and Jews. Nor does he oppose salaries for terrorists and their families.”
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French President French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
(Photo: Yves Herman / AFP, Abir Sultan / AFP)
Sa’ar accused Macron of “trying to interfere from the outside in a conflict he is not a party to, in a way completely detached from the reality on the ground after October 7,” adding that the French president’s actions “undermine regional stability and drag the Middle East and the international system toward unilateral moves. His actions are dangerous — they will not bring peace.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot hit back in his own post: “Without getting into our disagreements over the Palestinian issue, this is very unfair, dear Gideon. President Macron achieved unprecedented commitments from the Palestinian Authority with his initiative.”
Barrot claimed that the PA completely stopped paying stipends to prisoners convicted of terrorism as of Aug. 1, “and an independent review will confirm this very soon. A review of school textbooks to prevent incitement is also underway, and we will ensure the PA lives up to its commitments.”
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French foreign minister tried to include australian foreign minister but labeled fake account instead
(Photo: X platform)
He added that France had also secured “unprecedented commitments from Arab states and Turkey. In the New York declaration adopted in July, they expressed support for Hamas’ disarmament and removal from power, for a stabilization initiative for Gaza the day after, normalization, and the creation of regional security arrangements with Israel. There is an alternative to end this war, and it is France’s responsibility to offer it, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council with civilian and security interests in the region.”
Barrot tagged his response to the foreign ministers of the UK, Canada, and Australia. But instead of tagging Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s official account, he mistakenly tagged an old parody account called “Fake Penny Wong,” which described the lawmaker in her previous role as “Minister for Climate Change” — and as a “rampant lesbian.”
Sa’ar fired back Wednesday evening, saying he was “astonished” by Barrot’s claim that the PA had stopped paying stipends to prisoners.
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French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and Gideon Saar got into a social media kerfluffle
(Photo: Angela Weiss/ AFP, GPO)
“The facts are clear and unequivocal — and I’m sure French intelligence knows them as well: the PA simply replaced the old system with a new one that continues to transfer money to the same bank accounts of terrorists and their families. So either the PA is deceiving you, or you are deceiving the world.”
He added: “As for PA incitement against Israel and Jews, nothing has changed! The incitement is visible in kindergartens, schools, textbooks, Palestinian media, and mosques. The only places where it doesn’t exist are in letters the PA sends to France — the same kind of letters with the same commitments that Arafat sent 30 years ago. You talk about ending the war, but your moves against Israel prolong it, in addition to destabilizing the region. Everything else is just empty words and illusions.”