Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused French President Emmanuel Macron of fuelling a surge in anti-Semitism by planning to recognise Palestinian statehood, and claimed the Australian prime minister had abandoned Australian Jews. Netanyahu framed Macron's planned recognition as appeasement that rewards Hamas, hardens refusal to free hostages, and emboldens threats against Jews in France. France's presidency rejected the allegations as abject and erroneous, vowed a response, and affirmed protection for Jewish citizens. French deputy minister Benjamin Haddad said France had no lessons to learn on combating anti-Semitism and warned against exploiting the issue. France is among many UN members recognising or planning to recognise Palestine.
In his letter, Netanyahu said to Macron: Your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on this antisemitic fire. It is not diplomacy, it is appeasement. It rewards Hamas terror, hardens Hamas's refusal to free the hostages, emboldens those who menace French Jews and encourages the Jew-hatred now stalking your streets.
The French president's office hit back swiftly at Netanyahu on Tuesday, calling his allegations abject and erroneous, and promising that they will not go unanswered. This is a time for seriousness and responsibility, not for conflation and manipulation, the French presidency said, adding that France protects and will always protect its Jewish citizens. Violence against the [French] Jewish community is intolerable, it said. Reacting to Netanyahu's letter, Benjamin Haddad, the French deputy minister for European affairs, said that France had no lessons to learn in the fight against anti-Semitism.
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