&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "'Macron can't have it both ways': Netanyahu blocks French president's Israel visit over Palestinian state recognition row")
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected French President Emmanuel Macron's request for a state visit to Israel ahead of France's recognition of a Palestinian state later this month at the United Nations General Assembly, Hebrew media reported.
Why did Netanyahu turn down Macron’s request?
Macron wanted to make a short trip to Tel Aviv ahead of the UNGA session, where France is expected to join other Western nations in unilaterally recognising a Palestinian state. Netanyahu, however, said he would only allow the visit if France withdrew the planned motion, a proposal rejected by the French leader.
“Macron sent a message to Netanyahu saying he wanted to come, but Netanyahu replied that under the current circumstances it was not the right time,” Former French-Israeli lawmaker Meyer Habib told Israeli media. Another Israeli official told the Hebrew network Kan public broadcaster, "We will not allow Macron to have it both ways.”
The disagreement soon reached social media. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar criticised Macron directly on X, accusing him of being more concerned about visas for senior Palestinian Authority officials than about Palestinian incitement and payments to convicted attackers.
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“President Macron is very concerned about visas for senior Palestinian Authority officials. That’s what keeps him up at night. He doesn’t protest the rampant incitement in the PA’s education system against Israel and Jews. Nor does he oppose salaries for terrorists and their families,” Sa’ar wrote.
He accused Macron of meddling in a conflict he is “not a part of”, claiming the French leader’s approach “undermines regional stability and drags the Middle East and the international system toward unilateral moves. His actions are dangerous, they will not bring peace.”
France defends its role in the peace effort
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot pushed back against Sa’ar’s criticism, insisting Macron’s initiative had secured major concessions. “Without getting into our disagreements over the Palestinian issue, this is very unfair, dear Gideon. President Macron achieved unprecedented commitments from the Palestinian Authority with his initiative,” he said.
Barrot added that France also gained “unprecedented commitments from the Arab States and Turkey, who, in the New York declaration adopted in July, endorsed the disarmament and exclusion of Hamas, the creation of a stabilisation mission to manage the ‘day after’ in Gaza, normalisation and the establishment of a regional security architecture with Israel.”
“There is an alternative to this endless war, and it is our responsibility as a permanent member of the UNSC, with citizen and security interests in the region, to propose it,” he added.
