Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticised Emmanuel Macron on Saturday after the French President called for a halt to arms sales to Israel if the weaponry is used in Gaza.
Speaking at a summit on , Macron said a ceasefire is “necessary in Gaza, as in Lebanon”.
“We can’t demand a ceasefire while also sending weapons,” he said. “That’s just consistency.”
Separately, in an interview with France Inter radio, Mr Macron said the priority should be a political solution and that “arms used to fight in Gaza are halted”, adding that his country’s focus was avoiding escalation.
“The Lebanese people must not, in turn, be sacrificed, and Lebanon cannot become another Gaza,” Mr Macron said.
Those comments sparked a fierce response from Netanyahu, whose army is fighting against groups backed by Iran.
“As Israel fights the forces of barbarism led by Iran, all civilised countries should be standing firmly by Israel’s side. Yet, President Macron and other western leaders are now calling for arms embargoes against Israel. Shame on them,” Netanyahu said.
France is not one of the biggest weapons providers to Israel. It shipped military equipment worth $33 million last year, according to the Defence Ministry’s annual arms exports report.
For a year, Israel has bombarded Gaza, killing more than 41,800 Palestinians in a reprisal to Hamas’s unprecedented and deadly incursion into southern Israel on October 7. About 1,200 people were killed that day and 240 taken hostage.
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