"What you're doing is a crime." The French president launches a scathing attack on Netanyahu

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not serving the long-term security of Israelis by bombing Gaza and deluding them into believing that the response is solely for security reasons.

During an interview aboard the presidential plane with France 5 on Wednesday regarding the situation in Gaza and the Israeli strikes on the Palestinian enclave since mid-March, Emmanuel Macron had particularly harsh words for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The French president said: "I don't believe that what Netanyahu is doing serves the long-term security of the Israelis by making them believe that the response is solely security-related. It's the same story he told them 15 years ago, and it wasn't true. The events of October 7 happened."

Emmanuel Macron noted that he has "always accepted profound differences" with the Israeli leader, explaining, "First, we have a disagreement on humanitarian issues, and fundamentally on our relationship with life," before detailing a "strategic disagreement."

"For me, the answer is political, and France's role is to stand with humanity," he added.

The French president said they must "try to tell" Benjamin Netanyahu that "at some point, what he is doing is not in accordance with international law, what he is doing is also a crime, and what is being done in his name is not in your interest."

During the meeting, Macron stressed that "movement towards recognizing the Palestinian state must be made in June."

"I will do this because I believe that at some point it will be right, and because I also want to participate in a collective dynamic that should also allow all those who defend Palestine to recognize Israel in return, which many of them do not," he added.

He stressed that this would also allow "us to be clear in our fight against those who deny Israel's right to exist, and to commit ourselves to collective security in the region."

In February 2024, the French president affirmed that "recognizing a Palestinian state is not taboo for France," believing that they owe it to the Palestinians, whose aspirations have been violated for far too long.