French president Emmanuel Macron has taken to Israeli television to deliver his strongest criticism yet of the country's war in Gaza, warning that its military campaign is 'totally destroying' its global image and credibility.
In an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 television, Macron praised Israel’s historic achievements in security but said the current strategy in Gaza was backfiring.
“You are provoking so many civilian victims and casualties that you are completely destroying Israel’s image and credibility,” he told viewers. “Not just in the region, but in public opinion everywhere.”
The French leader argued that while Hamas must be dismantled, purely military solutions would not succeed in breaking the cycle of violence.
Instead, he emphasised the importance of diplomacy – particularly on the stalled two-state solution.
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'The hope of peace will vanish'
Macron also used the interview to defend his controversial decision to officially recognise the Palestinian state which he argues would sideline Hamas.
France will formalise this at the United Nations General Assembly on Monday, 22 September – a move that has won the backing of countries including Canada, Australia and Belgium.
The French president said that recognising Palestine is “the best way to isolate Hamas” and a decision that “should have been taken a long time ago”.
He accused the current Israeli government of trying to kill off the two-state option, pointing to a recent vote to resume settlement expansion in the West Bank.
“We are at the last [moment] before proposing two states becomes totally impossible,” he warned. “Now is the time to act – not tomorrow, not in 10 years. If we don’t move, the conflict will only deepen, and the hope of peace will vanish.”
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Request denied
His stance has provoked the ire of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who accused him of “feeding the flames of anti-Semitism” in France.
Israeli authorities have refused Macron’s request to travel to Israel ahead of next week’s UN meetings in New York, where he had hoped to set out his position face to face.
Macron insists he wants to keep working with Netanyahu, even as he raised the spectre of economic sanctions should Israel press ahead with an expanded Gaza offensive.
The French president's intervention comes amid a shifting international stance on Israel's actions in Gaza.
On 12 September, the UN General Assembly adopted the so-called “New York Declaration” with an overwhelming majority, giving new momentum to the two-state solution and, for the first time, explicitly excluding Hamas from the political equation.
Palestinian officials hailed the vote as “an important step towards ending the occupation”.
