A diplomatic row has broken out between Israel and France after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused French President Emmanuel Macron of fueling “the anti-Semitic fire” in France by planning to recognize Palestinian statehood.
In a letter to Macron, Netanyahu claimed that anti-Semitism had surged in France since Macron’s announcement that he would recognize Palestine as a state at a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly next month.
Netanyahu’s accusations were swiftly rejected by the French president’s office, which called his allegations “abject” and “erroneous” and promised that they “will not go unanswered”.
The French presidency emphasized that France “protects and will always protect its Jewish citizens” and that “violence against the [French] Jewish community is intolerable”.
Benjamin Haddad, the French deputy minister for European affairs, added that France had “no lessons to learn in the fight against anti-Semitism” and that the issue must not be “exploited”.
In his letter, Netanyahu stated, “your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on this antisemitic fire. It is not diplomacy, it is appeasement. It rewards Hamas terror, hardens Hamas’s refusal to free the hostages, emboldens those who menace French Jews and encourages the Jew-hatred now stalking your streets.”
This diplomatic dust-up comes as Netanyahu also accused Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of being “a weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews”.
The Australian government plans to recognize Palestinian statehood, and on Monday, it cancelled the visa of Israeli politician Simcha Rothman, whose ultra nationalist party is in Netanyahu’s governing coalition.
In response, Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Saar, revoked the visas of Australia’s representatives to the Palestinian Authority.
Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong called Israel’s revocation of visas for its diplomats an “unjustified reaction” and said that Netanyahu’s government was increasing Israel’s diplomatic isolation on the world stage.
The conflict between Israel and Palestine has led to a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with the death toll from Israel’s attacks and forced starvation rising to 62,000.
Israeli authorities have banned shelter items, such as tents, from entering Gaza for about five months, a period in which more than 700,000 people in the war-ravaged territory have been forcibly displaced and re-displaced by Israeli forces.
The UN Human Rights Office warned that Israel’s military takeover of Gaza City threatened a further humanitarian catastrophe, with risks of mass displacement, killings, and misery.
UN officials have also reported that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza City are being ordered to move south to the al-Mawasi area, which Israel previously designated a “safe zone” but continues to bomb.
The situation in Gaza remains dire, with nearly 19,000 children killed in the war, according to reports. The international community continues to call for a ceasefire and diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict.