France's Macron shares Israel's concerns about Lebanon's Hezbollah

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France on July 16, 2017 [Mustafa Yalçın / Anadolu Agency]

French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France on July 16, 2017 [Mustafa Yalçın / Anadolu Agency]

Image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on July 16, 2017 [Mustafa Yalçın / Anadolu Agency]

France shares Israel’s concerns at the arming of Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah, President Emmanuel Macron told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after their first formal meeting in Paris on Sunday.

Tensions have risen between Hezbollah and its longtime foe Israel since Donald Trump became US president with his tough talk against Iran. The Iran-backed group’s rocket arsenal can hit any military target in the Jewish state, its chief said last month.

“I share Israeli concerns on the arming of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon,” Macron told reporters on Sunday, alongside Netanyahu. “We seek Lebanon’s stability with due regard to all minorities,” he said.

The French president reiterated that he would support any initiative seeking the resumption of negotiations of the peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has been frozen for three years.

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He confirmed France’s long-held policy that favours a two-state solution with Jerusalem as the capital for the Palestinian state and Israel and said he would visit Israel “in the coming months”, at the invitation of the Israeli prime minister.

Netanyahu, who is looking to turn a new page with France after resisting attempts led last year by Macron’s predecessor Francois Hollande to restart the peace process via an international conference, said Israel and France shared a desire to see “a stable and peaceful Middle-East.”