editor
On Saturday evening, October 5, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a striking message to French President Emmanuel Macron, expressing frustration over Western leaders’ stance on arms embargoes.
Netanyahu described Israel as being engaged on “seven fronts,” ranging from Gaza and Lebanon to Yemen and the West Bank.
In a heated conclusion, the prime minister declared, “Yet President Macron and other Western leaders are now calling for arms embargoes against Israel. Shame on them… Israel will win with or without their support. But their shame will continue long after this war has been won.”
Earlier in the day, Macron, speaking on the radio station France Inter, had emphasized the need for a political solution and called for halting arms deliveries to Israel, stating, “I think that today, the priority is to return to a political solution, to stop delivering arms to use to carry out the fighting in Gaza.”
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Tensions heightened between the two leaders, culminating in a frank phone conversation on Sunday. Macron reiterated France’s firm commitment to Israel’s security but stressed the need for a ceasefire in Lebanon, arguing that further arms deliveries “cannot produce the security expected by the Israelis.” Netanyahu, however, rejected this, insisting that Israel’s allies should stand firmly behind the country and avoid restrictions that could strengthen what he called the “Iranian axis of evil.”
Macron’s mention of halting arms shipments has revived the debate surrounding the war in Gaza, sparked by Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023. While Israeli bombardments in Lebanon and Iranian strikes against Israel have dominated recent headlines, the French president’s call refocused attention on the broader conflict within the Palestinian enclave.
