Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders issued strong condemnations on Thursday following French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement that France would recognize a Palestinian state, warning that the move rewards terrorism and undermines Israel’s security.
“We strongly condemn President Macron’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state next to Tel Aviv in the wake of the October 7 massacre. Such a move rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became," Netanyahu said.
"A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel — not to live in peace beside it.
"Let’s be clear: the Palestinians do not seek a state alongside Israel; they seek a state instead of Israel.”
"I thank President Macron for providing an additional — and most compelling — reason to finally implement Israeli sovereignty over the historic regions of Judea and Samaria, and to put an end once and for all to the dangerous illusion of a terrorist Palestinian state in the heart of the Land of Israel," Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote on X/Twitter in English, French, and Hebrew. "This will be our legitimate Zionist response to the unilateral pressures and coercive maneuvers of Macron and his allies."
Defense Minister Israel Katz called Macron’s recognition “a disgrace and a surrender to terrorism,” posting on X/Twitter, “Macron’s announcement of his intentions to recognize a Palestinian state is a disgrace and a surrender to terrorism, granting a reward and encouragement to the murderers and rapists of Hamas, who carried out the most horrific massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” Katz wrote.
“Instead of standing with Israel in this time of trial, the French president is acting to weaken it. We will not allow the establishment of a Palestinian entity that would harm our security, endanger our existence, and undermine our historical right to the Land of Israel. We are all united to prevent this grave danger.”
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana also lashed out at Macron on social media, expressing regret over having met him in the past.
'Macron just awarded Hamas for committing October 7 massacre'
“Macron just awarded Hamas a prize for committing the October 7 massacre,” he wrote. “This shameful act is nothing less than a betrayal by the so-called ‘leaders’ of the free world. It sends a chilling message: terrorism pays off.
“Macron will be remembered as a collaborator with evil — on the wrong side of history. I’m ashamed to have met this man. I love France. It deserves more courageous leadership.”
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar criticized Macron’s move as “absurd and unserious.”
“The French President's pretension to create by mere words an illusionary arrangement in our land is ridiculous and not serious,” Sa’ar said. “His statement this evening shows that all the conditions that he himself set a few weeks ago - have evaporated. All that remains is the illusionary state he presumes to establish.
“A Palestinian state will be a Hamas state, just as the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip twenty years ago led to Hamas taking control of it.
“President Macron cannot provide security for Israel. Let's hope he succeeds in doing so on the streets of Paris. Israel's attempt to base its security on Palestinian promises to fight terror completely failed in the Oslo process. Israel will no longer gamble on its security and its future," he wrote.
In a separate post, Sa'ar asserted that Hamas welcomed Macron's announcement.
"When these are the ones that applaud you - you better get yourself checked out," he wrote.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responded to Macron by saying: "Recognize France as a Palestinian state."
Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar was blunt in his condemnation, writing, “President Macron sold France to the radical Islam.”
US says it rejects Macron's plan to recognize a Palestinian state
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that Washington rejected French President Emmanuel Macron's plan to recognize a Palestinian state, with the top American diplomat calling it a "reckless decision."
Macron said on Thursday that France intends to recognize a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly, adding that he hoped it would help bring peace to the Middle East.
"This reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace," Rubio said in a post on X.
Washington's ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said in June he did not think an independent Palestinian state remained a US foreign policy goal.
Huckabee responded to Macron's announcement by suggesting that Britain should colonize France.
"How clever! If Macron can just 'declare' the existence of a state, perhaps the UK can “declare” France a British colony!"
"Macron's unilateral "declaration" of a "Palestinian" state didn't say WHERE it would be. I can now exclusively disclose that France will offer the French Riviera & the new nation will be called "Franc-en-Stine," he added.