French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly sought to make an unplanned visit to Israel, but the proposal was declined, according to a report broadcast Wednesday night by Kan 11 News. The rejection was said to have come with a stipulation attached.
The report explained that Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu relayed to Macron that a visit would only be possible if Macron backed away from his plan to formally recognize a Palestinian state. Macron, however, did not agree to that condition.
An Israeli official cited in the piece stated, “We won’t let Macron play both sides.”
Former French parliament member Meyer Habib also confirmed to Kan 11 that Macron attempted to arrange a visit but was rebuffed by Netanyahu.
“Macron sent a message to Netanyahu expressing his desire to come, but Netanyahu responded that under the current circumstances, it’s not the right time for a visit,” Habib explained.
Strained ties between Paris and Jerusalem had already been evident before Macron declared, on September 22 at the UN General Assembly, that he intended to recognize a Palestinian state. His stance has been accompanied by ongoing criticism of Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza.
Macron has gone so far as to push twice for halting weapons sales to Israel, arguing that “stopping the export of weapons” used by Israel in Gaza and Lebanon is the only way to bring the fighting to an end.
He later asserted that Israel’s continued strikes in Gaza could amount to breaches of international humanitarian law.
In August, Netanyahu addressed Macron in writing, saying antisemitism had “surged” in France after the French leader’s announcement that Paris would recognize a Palestinian state.
In his letter, Netanyahu charged, “Your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on this antisemitic 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.”
The French Presidency denounced Netanyahu’s criticism, labeling it “abject” and “erroneous,” and responded that France “protects and will always protect its Jewish citizens.”
{Matzav.com}
There are plenty of Arab countries that would welcome him with open arms just as he’s welcomed so many of his country’s population from various Arab countries.