Israel denounces Macron UN speech as 'grotesque absurdity' — SkimNews
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Netanyahu's office called Macron's UNGA remarks a "grotesque absurdity," sharply challenging his claim that "Hamas has never struck in the West Bank" and asserting that "Hamas terrorists carry out attacks against Jews almost every day" in the territory.
- Macron, in what the article notes was his last UNGA speech as President, said "What is our credibility worth if we remain inactive on Gaza?" and condemned "violations every day" in the West Bank, adding that the situation "makes it more impossible to achieve respect for the Palestinian people's legitimate right to exist."
- Israel pointed to the September 20 shooting death of Netanel Shukrun — a father of six who also held French citizenship, killed on the eve of Yom Kippur — as proof Hamas operates in the West Bank; the Israeli military arrested the gunman at a hospital and a cabinet minister called for his execution under a new law.
- U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee denounced Macron's speech on X as "out of touch with reality" on September 23, writing that "Hamas is an evil scourge, and they have killed innocent American citizens."
- France recently joined Britain in imposing sanctions on products from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and Macron last year led a Western push at the UNGA to recognise a Palestinian state — moves that have frayed ties with Netanyahu.
- The UN documented roughly six settler-related violent incidents against Palestinians or their property daily in the West Bank through mid-2026, a backdrop the article flags but that sits outside the Israeli government's central talking points in the dispute.
Why it matters: The clash deepens an already strained Netanyahu-Macron relationship and follows France's recent decision to join Britain in sanctioning Israeli settlement products — a concrete European policy escalation that compounds Netanyahu's diplomatic isolation even as the U.S. ambassador publicly rallies behind Israel, widening the transatlantic split over West Bank policy.
Ask SkimNews
