French President Emmanuel Macron, who is on a 6-day visit to Southeast Asian countries, said on Friday that the European Union should make a “bold, decisive choice by hardening the collective position” against Israel if it does not respond appropriately to addressing the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Macron is known for his vocal critique of the Israeli government for its conduct in the Gaza invasion. With international pressure mounting on Israel over the deepening hunger crisis in Gaza, Macron said action is needed “in the next few hours and days.”
He also added that recognition of a Palestinian state, with conditions, is “not only a moral duty but a political necessity and responsibility.”
France has repeatedly told the Israeli government of its plans to recognise a sovereign Palestinian state that would guarantee and compel France to take a decisive stance in the future, especially after witnessing Israel’s weaponisation of food in the occupied enclave during the ongoing war.
The French president has increasingly voiced criticism of what he says are Israel’s “shameful” policies in Gaza, amid a total aid blockade on the Palestinian territory, which was only recently partially lifted.
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In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Macron of siding with Hamas against Israel and of echoing “blood libels” against the Jewish state.
France, along with Britain and Canada, has rejected Israel's baseless claims of emboldening Hamas by supporting the suffering population in Gaza.
France said that they have to speak against the “shameful policies” adopted by the Jewish state against the “starving population in Gaza”.
The bilateral relations between the two have simmered after trading back and forth accusations; however, the French president is defiant in his stance and has therefore asked others to take a firm stance against Israel.
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