Emmanuel Macron called on Thursday for the end of the delivery of weapons to Israel, criticized for the act of retaliation for its operations in Gaza.
I think today the most important thing is to return to a political solution, to stop supplying weapons to fight in Gaza, Macron said in France Inter. France is not issuing any, he added during a taped interview earlier in the week.
The United States gives Israel about $3 billion in weapons a year. In May, the State Department said that there is not enough evidence to prevent the shipment of weapons, but that it is reasonable to consider that Israel has used weapons in a way that does not comply with the principles of humanitarian law.
In September, Britain announced that it was suspending some weapons exports to Israel, citing the obvious risk that these weapons could be used in violation of international law. Macron reiterated his concern about the ongoing conflict in Gaza despite repeated calls for a ceasefire.
I think we are not being heard, he said. “I think it’s a mistake, including for the security of Israel,” he said, adding that the conflict is fueling hatred.
Macron also said that avoiding conflict in Lebanon is the most important thing. Lebanon cannot become the new Gaza, he added.
On Monday, Israel commemorates the first anniversary of the devastating October 7 Hamas attack that sparked the Gaza war and has now engulfed neighboring Lebanon, sparking regional unrest. The number of deaths resulting from the attack, including prisoners of war, stands at 1,205 dead on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to AFP figures based on official Israeli statistics.
Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza have killed at least 41,825 people, mostly civilians, according to the Health Ministry of the Hamas-ruled Palestinian Territory. The UN has said that the figures are reliable.
