Tel Aviv [Israel], August 20 (ANI): A diplomatic row has erupted between Israel and France after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused French President Emmanuel Macron of fuelling “the anti-Semitic fire” in France by planning to recognize Palestinian statehood, Al Jazeera reported.
The French president’s office swiftly rejected Netanyahu’s accusations on Tuesday, calling them “abject” and “erroneous,” and warning that they “will not go unanswered.”
“This is a time for seriousness and responsibility, not for conflation and manipulation,” the French presidency said, adding that France “protects and will always protect its Jewish citizens.” The statement stressed that “violence against the [French] Jewish community is intolerable,” according to Al Jazeera.
French Deputy Minister for European Affairs Benjamin Haddad also responded, saying that France had “no lessons to learn in the fight against anti-Semitism.” The issue, “which is poisoning our European societies,” must not be “exploited,” Haddad stated.
In his letter to Macron, Netanyahu wrote, “Your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on this anti-Semitic fire. It is not diplomacy, it is appeasement. It rewards Hamas terror, hardens Hamas’s refusal to free the hostages, emboldens those who menace French Jews and encourages the Jew-hatred now stalking your streets.”
Netanyahu’s criticism also extended to Australia, where he accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of being “a weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews.” The Albanese government recently announced plans to recognize Palestinian statehood and cancelled the visa of Israeli politician Simcha Rothman, whose ultranationalist party is part of Netanyahu’s governing coalition, Al Jazeera reported.
Hours later, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar announced that he had revoked the visas of Australia’s representatives to the Palestinian Authority. “I also instructed the Israeli Embassy in Canberra to carefully examine any official Australian visa application for entry to Israel,” Saar said.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong condemned Israel’s move as an “unjustified reaction,” adding that Netanyahu’s government was “isolating Israel and undermining international efforts towards peace and a two-state solution.” Last week, Albanese said Netanyahu was “in denial” about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said Israel had banned shelter items, including tents, from entering Gaza for about five months, leaving more than 700,000 displaced people without adequate shelter.
UN Human Rights Office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan also warned that Israel’s military takeover of Gaza City risked “mass displacement and more and more killings and more misery,” noting that “hundreds of thousands” of Palestinians were being ordered to move south to al-Mawasi, an area Israel had designated a “safe zone” but continues to bomb.
About The Author
