President Rivlin received a warm welcome from French President Emmanuel Macron on arriving at the Elysee Palace in Paris on the final leg of his tour which brought him this week also in Berlin and Vienna.

Israel’s army chief Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi warned that ‘’from a security perspective, Lebanon has become a hostage in the hands of Hezbollah, a terrorist organization,’’ as he briefed French President Emmanuel Macron during a visit in Paris on Thursday where he accompanied Israeli President Reuven Rivlin as part of a diplomatic visit to three European nations.  

‘’Lebanon has lost control over its security policy and, as evidence of that, is not implementing United Nations Security Council Résolution 1701,’’ Kochavi said.

He added: ‘’Hezbollah has thousands of missiles and rockets deployed in the heart of civilian populations and is deliberately aiming them in order to harm Israeli civilians. The IDF will do everything to prevent this. We have thousands of targets in Lebanon, and that list grows every week. We also have extensive capabilities with which to destroy them. We will not hesitate to attack with power if ordered, in any place where there are armaments, combatants or infrastructure that supports the enemy. The Lebanese government is responsible for changing the situation.’’

Speaking about Hezbollah’s military build-up, supported by Iran, President Rivlin  said that Israel hopes France will continue to take part in the international efforts to ensure that the Lebanese government makes the necessary reforms to weaken Hezbollah’s position in the Lebanese political system and in the institutions of governance.

President Rivlin received a warm welcome from French President Emmanuel Macron on arriving at the Elysee Palace in Paris on the final leg of his tour which brought him this week also in Berlin and Vienna. Both leaders embraced each other in the presence of the military honor guard at the entrance of the Elysee Palace and mounted the steps with Macron’s arm around Rivlin’s shoulder.

Rivlin’s visit was aimed at persuading the three e key European countries to take an uncompromising stand against Iran’s nuclear program and to convince the EU that the International Criminal Court will be overstepping its role if it proceeds to investigate Israel for alleged war crimes.

Speaking about the dangers of Iranian military build-up, the Israemo president said, “The vision of partnership and peace will only come through determined opposition to Iran’s radical and aggressive stance that is expressed through its nuclear program and support for terrorist organizations. We have no territorial dispute or conflict with the Lebanese people and we hope that our friends, including France, will continue to hold the Lebanese government responsible for terrorism emanating from its territory. I hope that the winds of change blowing through the region will reach the Palestinian arena and help restore confidence between our peoples.”

During a joint statement after the meeting, President Macron said: “I am welcoming a friend today. The friendship between us has grown stronger in recent years through our visits to each other. I wanted to thank you, Mr. President, for this personal connection and for the work we have done together.’’

 

The French leader said that they discussed recent nuclear developments in Iran. ‘’There is no ambiguity in this regard, Iran must stop making a most serious nuclear situation worse by continuing to violate the Vienna Agreement,’’ in a reference to the 2015 nuclear deal signed by world powers and Tehran.

He continued, ‘’The security of the entire region is at stake. Iran, in this regard, must do what is expected of it and behave responsibly. France is fully mobilized in favor of relaunching a credible process which will make it possible to find a solution to this crisis; that is, to return to control, to supervision of nuclear programs, but to include, as we have been advocating since 2017, control of Iran’s ballistic activity in the region.”

Regarding the situation in Lebenanon, President Macron said that ‘’ we are both convinced,that the time for testing responsibility is coming to an end, and that we will be undoubtedly required to change the approach and methods in the coming weeks, in a very clear way, because as of last August we cannot leave the Lebanese people in the situation they are in.’’

Macron also touched upon the the normalization of relations between Israel and various Arab States. ‘’This development is an important contribution to the stability of regional security. We must now continue this positive dynamic by making progress towards the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. France is fully mobilized to help Israelis and Palestinians to gradually find the voices of dialogue,’’ he said.

Macron added: “At the end of our conversation, we discussed a subject that is close to both of our hearts – the preservation of the memory of the Shoah. I visited Yad Vashem last year, at your invitation, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camps. And at a time of the disappearance of the last witnesses, we remain more determined than ever together to meet the challenges of passing this memory on.’’

He added: ‘’Equally strong is our commitment to continue the fight against all forms of Holocaust denial, distortion, antisemitism, the resurgence of hate speech, especially online, and all forms of racism and discrimination.’’