Netanyahu tells Macron a Palestinian state would be ‘huge prize for terror’
French president urges PM to renew aid to Gaza and end the war, in phone call 3 days after premier’s son swore online at Macron for planning to recognize Palestinian statehood
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his opposition to Palestinian statehood in a phone call Tuesday with French President Emmanuel Macron, the premier’s office said, days after his son hurled an obscenity at Macron for saying Paris could recognize a Palestinian state.
Macron, for his part, urged Netanyahu to halt the war and renew the flow of aid to Gaza, and said a two-state solution was critical to ensuring Israel’s security, according to a social media post by the French president. Neither Macron nor the Prime Minister’s Office mentioned Yair Netanyahu’s insult.
Israel shut down the entry of aid to Gaza on March 2, after the first phase of a ceasefire-hostage deal with Hamas expired. Israel attempted to extend the first phase but refused to negotiate the second phase, which was supposed to see the end of fighting. Israel resumed hostilities in Gaza on March 18, some two months after the ceasefire was signed.
In a statement Tuesday, the Prime Minister’s Office said Netanyahu told Macron that a Palestinian state would be a “huge prize for terror” following the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, when the terror group stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.
“A Palestinian state that is established a few minutes from Israeli cities will be a stronghold for Iranian terror and that a large majority of the Israeli public firmly opposes this – and this is also his consistent and long-standing policy,” said the PMO, referring to Iran’s support for regional terror proxies including Hamas.
The premier’s office said he also told Macron that no Palestinian official, including from the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, has condemned the Hamas onslaught.
“In the Palestinian Authority, children are educated to destroy Israel, and financial awards are distributed to murderers of Jews,” Netanyahu’s office said, echoing Israel’s longtime criticism of PA schoolbooks and the stipends the PA has given families of Palestinian attackers held in Israeli jails.
Meanwhile, in identical French and Hebrew posts on X, Macron said he had reassured Netanyahu of “France’s support for the security of Israel and its people.”
“The release of all hostages has always been an absolute priority, as has the demilitarization of Hamas,” wrote Macron.
However, Macron said, he told Netanyahu that only a ceasefire in Gaza could free the 59 remaining hostages, and urged the premier to open “all humanitarian aid crossings” into Gaza.
“The ordeal the civilian populations of Gaza are going through must end,” wrote Macron. “I hope that in the next few hours, such a decision will be reached and the release of other hostages can be made possible.”
“Ceasefire, release of all the hostages, humanitarian aid, and afterward — the opening of a renewed prospect for a two-state solution,” Macron said. “Peace, as quickly as possible.”
Yair Netanyahu sparked controversy on Saturday when he said “screw you” to Macron on X and called for the independence of several French territories, in response to the French president’s comment on Wednesday that Paris plans to recognize a Palestinian state within months.
Later Saturday, Benjamin Netanyahu said his son’s language was unacceptable, but also attacked Macron for planning to recognize Palestinian statehood.
“I love my son Yair, a true Zionist worried for the future of the country,” wrote Netanyahu on X. “Like every citizen, he is also entitled to his personal opinion.”
Yair Netanyahu has been residing in Miami, Florida, for the past two years, most of that time at the residence of billionaire Simon Falic, a close friend of the Netanyahus.
The unemployed 33-year-old is known in Israel for his provocative social media posts, which often invoke conspiracy theories. Courts have ordered him to pay hundreds of thousands of shekels in damages in multiple libel lawsuits filed against him by public figures in Israel.
His insult to Macron was the latest example of the worsening French-Israeli relationship amid the war in Gaza.
Jerusalem has accused Macron of blocking Israeli arms manufacturers from taking part in industry shows in France. The French president has also angered Jerusalem by calling for an arms embargo on Israel as the only way to end the war in Gaza.
However, recognition of Palestinian statehood would mark a major policy shift for Paris and risk antagonizing Israel, which insists such moves by foreign states are premature.
France would be the most significant European power to recognize a Palestinian state, a move the United States has also long resisted. Spain, Ireland, Norway and Slovenia all recognized a Palestinian state last year, drawing condemnation from Israel.
AFP contributed to this report.
