PM Netanyahu, French President Macron, on collision course over Lebanon war

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Emmanuel Macron blasted one another’s remarks over Lebanon in statements made both publicly and privately.

The two leaders spoke over the phone on Tuesday, less than two weeks after Macron called for an arms embargo on Israel – to which Netanyahu replied: “Shame.”

Netanyahu told Macron he opposes a unilateral ceasefire in Lebanon that would not change the security situation in the north, his office said in a statement. 

The prime minister emphasized that Israel is operating against the Hezbollah terrorist organization with the aim of preventing it from endangering citizens along the northern border, ensuring they can safely return to their homes.

“Israel would not agree to any arrangement that does not provide this and which does not stop Hezbollah from rearming and regrouping,” Netanyahu clarified, according to a readout of the call. 

The prime minister also expressed surprise at Macron's plan to host a conference in Paris on the situation in Lebanon, involving countries like South Africa and Algeria, which he noted are working to deny Israel its fundamental right to self-defense and, in effect, challenge its very right to exist.

Macron has been calling for a “political solution” to the situation in Lebanon, telling French media that it “cannot become another Gaza.” 

During a closed-door meeting with French government ministers, Macron sharply criticized Netanyahu.

“Mr. Netanyahu must not forget that his country was created by a decision of the UN,” Macron told his cabinet. 

He referred to UNSC Resolution 181 adopted on Nov. 29, 1947, which called for the partition of British Mandatory Palestine into two independent states, one Jewish and one Palestinian Arab.

"And therefore, this is not the time to break away from UN decisions," Macron continued, this time referring to UN Security Council Resolution 1701 which states that only the Lebanese Armed Forces and the UN peacekeeping mission (UNIFIL) should be deployed to southern Lebanon.

For years, Israel has expressed outrage that Hezbollah has been violating this resolution, to the disregard of UNIFIL and the Lebanese army.  

In response to the report, which appeared in the French newspaper Le Parisien, Netanyahu’s office published a statement blasting Macron’s remarks. 

“A reminder to the French President: It was not a UN decision that established the State of Israel but the victory that was achieved in the War of Independence with the blood of our heroic fighters, many of whom were Holocaust survivors, including from the Vichy regime in France,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said.

“It would also be worthwhile to recall that in recent decades, the UN has approved hundreds of antisemitic decisions against the State of Israel, the purpose of which is to deny the one and only Jewish state's right to exist and its ability to defend itself.”

In another indication of rising tensions between the governments, The Wall Street Journal reported that the French presidency instructed the Euronaval Defence Expo in France to prohibit Israeli companies from showcasing their products.

This follows a ban on Israeli companies and even "anyone who may serve as their intermediaries" at the Eurosatory 2024 Expo in June, also held in France.