Netanyahu, Smotrich attack Macron over criticism of Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday attacked French President Emmanuel Macron over his latest remarks criticising Israel.

Netanyahu’s office said in a statement issued on Tuesday evening that the prime minister strongly condemned Macron’s comments about rising settler violence in the occupied West Bank.

“What is our credibility worth if we remain inactive on Gaza? Some claim that peace has been achieved, but this has not opened up humanitarian deliveries. It is a spectacle that shames us all,” AFP cited Macron saying.

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The French president made the remarks in his address opening the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Macron also criticised rising settler violence in the occupied West Bank, saying it “deprives the Palestinian people of their legitimate right to exist”.

Commenting on Macron’s remarks, Netanyahu’s office said: “The grotesque absurdity of Emmanuel Macron’s statement is staggering,”

It added: “Hamas elements carry out attacks against Jews almost daily and have murdered countless Israeli civilians in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank]. Ignorance is no excuse for shedding their blood.”

Smotrich also criticised Macron, accusing him of lying and saying Hamas was fuelling what he called Arab terrorism in the West Bank.

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