Israeli leaders slam Macron over Hamas remark at UN
French leader claims 'Hamas has never operated in the West Bank'
Israeli leaders have lined up to condemn French President Emmanuel Macron after he told the United Nations General Assembly that Hamas has “never been active” in the West Bank.
“The grotesque absurdity of Emmanuel Macron’s statement is staggering,” a statement from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared. “Hamas terrorists carry out attacks against Jews almost every day. They have murdered countless Israeli civilians in Judea and Samaria. Ignorance is no excuse for erasing their blood.”
The statement referred to the West Bank by its Biblical name, Judea and Samaria, which Israel seized during the 1967 Six-Day War.
During his speech to the UN General Assembly, Macron said: “Look at what is happening in the West Bank, where every day violations are committed. In whose name? Hamas has never operated in the West Bank.”
Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot posted on X: “As someone who commanded the Judea and Samaria Division and fought to defeat Hamas terrorism, I am very familiar with the organisation’s operations in Judea and Samaria and the threat it poses to Israeli citizens.”
“The fight against terror is not up for negotiation, and we will not accept international hypocrisy at the expense of Israeli citizens’ security,” Eisenkot added.
In his address, Macron deplored the humanitarian situation in Gaza following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel—the deadliest ever terror attack against the Jewish state. He also condemned Israeli actions in the West Bank, noting that both Palestinian attacks and settler violence have soared since the Hamas-led atrocities that triggered the Gaza war.
“A year ago, here in this very hall, about a dozen states had recognised Palestine. I hear the cynicism of some people: ‘Recognition is just a piece of paper, look at the reality,’” Macron said, banging his fist on the podium during what will be his final United Nations address before stepping down next May.
“But what credibility do we have if we continue to remain inactive in the face of Gaza? Some boast of a supposed peace. But that peace has not reopened humanitarian access for a single second. Are we simply to stand by and watch this spectacle that should shame us all?”
“Look at what is happening in the West Bank, where every day violations are committed. In whose name? Hamas has never operated in the West Bank,” Macron continued.
“What is happening there is building, day by day, the impossibility of a project that should be based on respect for the legitimate right of the Palestinian people to exist.”
As criticism of the French leader’s remark mounted, a French diplomatic official told The Times of Israel that Macron “meant to say that Hamas does not govern the West Bank.”