[Politics] Macron calls on Israel to stop killing women and babies in Gaza

[TheKnight.]

Israel must stop killing babies and women in Gaza, French President Emmanuel Macron said in an exclusive interview with the BBC.

 

Speaking from the Elysee Palace in Paris, Macron said there was "no justification" for the bombings in the Palestinian territory, adding that a ceasefire would benefit Israel.

 

While acknowledging Israel's right to protect itself, he said, "We urge you to stop the bombings" in Gaza.

 

Macron also stressed that France "clearly condemns" the "terrorist" actions of Hamas. France - like Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom and other Western nations - considers Hamas a terrorist organization.

Asked if he wished other leaders - including those of the United States and the United Kingdom - would join his call for a ceasefire, he replied, "I hope they will."

 

The French president spoke a day after a humanitarian aid conference in Paris about the war in Gaza.

 

Joshua: Macron spoke after the Paris Peace Conference.

He said that the "clear conclusion" of all the governments and agencies present at that summit was that "there is no other solution than first a humanitarian pause, to go towards a ceasefire, which will allow us to protect all civilians who have nothing to do with terrorists."

"De facto, civilians are being bombed today, de facto. These babies, these women and these old people are bombed and killed. There is no reason or legitimacy for this. So we urge Israel to stop."

He stated that it was not for him to judge whether international law had been violated.

“There is no justification”
In a wide-ranging interview at the end of the first day of the Annual Paris Peace Forum, the French president spoke about several issues including the fear of violence spreading from the Middle East to France, urging citizens of all religions to be "united against anti-Semitism."

Speaking about the situation in Gaza, Macron said France "clearly condemns" the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, which triggered the war.

Hamas militants killed more than 1,200 people and took 240 others hostage in the unprecedented cross-border assault they launched that day.

"We share [Israel's] pain. And we share his will to end terrorism. In France we know what terrorism means." But he said there is "no justification" for the ongoing bombardment of civilians in Gaza.

"It is extremely important for all of us because of our principles, because we are democracies. It is important in the medium and long term, as well as for Israel's own security, to recognize that all lives matter."

When questioned, he refused to claim that Israel had violated international law in Gaza. "I am not a judge. I am a head of state," he said, noting that it would be wrong to criticize Israel, which is "a partner and a friend" of France, in this way, just a month after it was attacked.
However, Macron disagreed that the best way for Israel to "protect itself is with a big bombardment of Gaza," and claimed that this was creating "resentment and bad feelings" in the region that would prolong the conflict.

After a month of bombings and almost two weeks since Israel launched a major ground offensive in that territory, the Hamas-run Ministry of Health of Gaza declared on Friday that 11,078 people had been killed, while 1.5 million had fled their homes.

Israel has said it will begin daily four-hour military pauses in parts of northern Gaza as it continues its offensive. However, his defense minister stressed that the pauses would be "localized" and "would not divert attention from the fighting."

Ahead of a march against anti-Semitism on Sunday that will be attended by a large part of the French political class, President Macron called on all French citizens to condemn anti-Semitic acts "without ambiguity."

He said that France had probably the largest Muslim community in Europe and a large Jewish community as well, and with France and the rest of Europe seeing a huge increase in anti-Semitism, all French citizens had to be united against anti-Semitism, and they had to "share the pain or the compassion of the Palestinians."

 

The world focus on the war in Ukraine and Russia was displaced by the conflict of Israel and Hamas.

 

 

The situation in Ukraine

 

Then Macron addressed other issues of global interest, such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

 

In his opinion, if Russia is allowed to win the war, "there will be a new imperial power" in Europe, which could threaten other former Soviet states such as Georgia and Kazakhstan, as well as the entire continent.

 

"Because, definitely, what Russia is doing [in Ukraine] is imperialism and colonialism," he said.

 

The French president said that it was the "duty" of his country and all countries to support Ukraine in its defense. But he also said that next month would be critical in the battle to regain lost ground in its counteroffensive operations.

 

He stated that the time had "not yet" come for Ukraine to sit down at the negotiating table and stressed that the decision to agree belonged exclusively to Kyiv. But he added that the time may come to "have fair and positive negotiations, and sit down at the table and find a solution with Russia."

 

Extremism on the Internet

Macron also spoke about extremism on the internet, a key topic at the Paris Peace Forum.

 

He specifically pointed to Meta, the parent company of Facebook, as well as Google, as the companies that "simply do not fulfill" the promises they made to moderate hate speech on their platforms.

 

He claimed that many online spaces lack enough moderators for French-language content, which he called a "shame." He promised to "put pressure" on them about it, although he said TikTok had improved the number of moderators for its French-language content.

 

And he claimed that climate change was causing terrorism in some parts of the world, specifically mentioning the effects of global warming on decreasing water levels in Lake Chad in West Africa.

 

"As a consequence of climate change, many families who lived from fishing [suffered]... Many species disappeared. And it motivated policies [that] pushed a lot of people into terrorism."

 

Asked if he has ever felt overwhelmed by the myriad of problems the world is facing, Macron said he saw it as "an opportunity and an honor to have responsibilities [as head of state]."

 

"We need international cooperation [to address global problems]... This is a unique opportunity."

 

 

 

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