Strained relations between France and Israel further deteriorated on Tuesday over the role of the United Nations in the creation of the State of Israel. "Mr Netanyahu must not forget that his country was created by a decision of the UN. And consequently, this is not the time to free ourselves from the decisions of the UN," said the French President, Emmanuel Macron during a meeting with his Council of Ministers, while they were discussing the war in Gaza and Lebanon.
The Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu hit back violently, "A reminder to the President of France: it was not the UN resolution that established the State of Israel, but rather the victory achieved in the War of Independence with the blood of heroic fighters, many of whom were survivors of the Holocaust - notably from the Vichy regime in France.”
This new war of words between Macron and Netanyahu comes as France is insistently and constantly calling for a ceasefire in both Gaza and Lebanon. It denounces the Israeli strikes in both cases, as well as the Israeli shots deemed "deliberately" aimed at the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in southern Lebanon. Several UN peacekeepers were injured in the strikes. Resolution 1701 of the United Nations Security Council adopted in 2006 affirms that only the Lebanese army and the UN Blue Helmets must be deployed in southern Lebanon and stipulates the cessation of hostilities on both sides of the border.
Netanyahu however claimed that the Hezbollah movement was using the installations and positions of UNIFIL as cover to carry out its attacks against Israel. He also told Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday that he “was opposed to a unilateral ceasefire, which would not change the security situation in Lebanon.”
Moreover, the “decision of the UN” invoked by Emmanuel Macron is also Resolution 181 adopted in November 1947 by the United Nations General Assembly that provided for the partition of Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Jewish state, Israel, was created in 1948. This partition plan was rejected by the Palestinians and the Arab countries, and the proclamation of the State of Israel were the triggers of the Arab-Israeli war of 1948-1949.
Yonathan Arfi, the president of the CRIF - Conseil Représentatif des Institutions Juives de France or the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France was shaken up by the French President’s remarks. He took to X to voice his shock, "The remarks of President of the Republic, if confirmed, are both a historical and political mistake. At a time when anti-Semitism feeds on anti-Zionism, these remarks dangerously strengthen the camp of those who contest the legitimacy of Israel's right to exist."
This slanging match between Macron and Netanyahu began around two weeks ago when the French President called for an arms embargo on Israel in a message addressed primarily to the United States. “Shame!” was Netanyahu’s venomous reply to Macron’s fierce remarks.
