Israel pursuing revenge in Gaza, ex-French PM says

People mourn next to dead bodies of Palestinians, who lost their lives during the Israeli attacks as they take out the bodies from the Al-Najjar Hospital, to perform funeral prayers in Rafah, Gaza on October 17, 2023 [Abed Rahim Khatib – Anadolu Agency]

Dominique de Villepin, the former French prime minister, has called for an immediate end to the war on the Gaza Strip, urging Europe and the US to prevent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from continuing his “suicidal logic”.

In an interview with France Info, De Villepin stated that Netanyahu’s government failed to guarantee the protection of the Israeli people on 7 October.

While acknowledging Israel’s right to self-defence, he criticised the indiscriminate killing of civilians, adding that now that more than 10,000 people have been killed, including 4,000 children in Gaza, it appears as though the Netanyahu government is pursuing a policy of revenge.

The former politician, who served as foreign minister in 2002 and 2003 under President Jacques Chirac, emphasised that the Israeli response is not proportionate, and Israel is exposing itself to danger with such a war and strikes, because neither force nor revenge guarantee peace and security, only justice does.

He criticised Netanyahu’s inability” to understand the lessons of history.

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