On Saturday, Emmanuel Macron called for an end to arms supplies to Israel for use in Gaza.
“Shame on them”, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu said Saturday in response to French president Emmanuel Macron and other Western leaders who called for arms embargoes against Israel.
‘’As Israel fights the forces of barbarism led by Iran, all civilized countries should stand firmly by Israel,” Netanyahu added.
On the same day, the French president called for an end to arms supplies to Israel for use in the Gaza Strip. In an interview broadcast on France Inter radio, Macron said that “Lebanon cannot become a new Gaza.’’
“I think that today, the priority is to return to a political solution, to stop delivering weapons to fight in Gaza”, he declared during a special program devoted to the French-speaking world. “France is not delivering any,” he added.
The French president also deplored the fact that the lines are not moving in Gaza, ‘’despite all diplomatic efforts to obtain a ceasefire.’’ “I don’t think we’re being heard. I said it again to Prime Minister Netanyahu and I think it’s a mistake, including for Israel’s security tomorrow,” he said. “We can see it clearly in our public opinion, and we can see it in an even more terrible way in public opinion in the region, it’s basically a resentment that is being born, a hatred that is fed by this,” he added.
The French President also said that ‘’the Lebanese people cannot in turn be sacrifice and Lebanon cannot become a new Gaza.’’
“Israel has the duty and the right to defend itself and to retaliate against these attacks – and that’s what we will do,’’ said Israel’s Prime Minister. After referring to the various fronts on which Israel is currently fighting, Netanyahu declared that “all civilized countries should stand by Israel”. Addressing Macron and the Western leaders calling for an arms embargo, he denounced what he perceived as a double standard, pointing out that Iran continues to support Hezbollah, the Houthis and Hamas. Netanyahu concluded by asserting that Israel “will win with or without their support”, adding that “the shame will continue long after the war is won”.
According to experts, French arms exports to Israel represent only a tiny percentage of French defense exports: 0.2%, out of a total of 27 billion euros in 2022, or around 15 million euros for arms deliveries, and 34 million euros, out of a total of 8.8 billion, for so-called “dual-use” goods. These licenses concern essentially transfers of spare parts.