Israel denounces 'grotesque absurdity' of Macron UN remarks on West Bank

JERUSALEM: Israel shot back angrily Tuesday (Sep 22) at French President Emmanuel Macron, who criticised Israeli actions in the West Bank by saying Hamas was not active in the territory that is home to the Palestinian Authority.

"The grotesque absurdity of Emmanuel Macron's statement is staggering," said a statement by the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is expected to deliver a defiant address to the world body on Thursday.

"Hamas terrorists carry out attacks against Jews almost every day. They have murdered countless Israeli civilians in Judea and Samaria," it said, using the Biblical name for the West Bank, which Israel seized in 1967.

Netanyahu's office pointed to the shooting death on Sunday, on the eve of Judaism's holiest day of Yom Kippur, of an Israeli settler in the West Bank. Israel said that the victim, father of six, Netanel Shukrun, also had French citizenship.

The Israeli military said it arrested the Palestinian gunman at a hospital and troops later raided his village. A minister in Netanyahu's government called for his execution under a new law.

Extremist Israeli settlers frequently attack and steal from West Bank Palestinians. The United Nations said there were about six settler-related violent incidents against Palestinians or their property daily through mid-2026 in the territory.

Macron, in his speech to the United Nations, deplored the humanitarian situation in Gaza - from which Hamas led the Oct 7, 2023 attack, the deadliest ever against Israel - as well as actions by Israel in the West Bank.

"What is our credibility worth if we remain inactive on Gaza? Some claim that peace has been achieved, but this has not opened up humanitarian deliveries. It is a spectacle that shames us all," Macron said.

"Look at what is happening in West Bank, where there are violations every day. In the name of what? Hamas has never struck in the West Bank. This every day makes it more impossible to achieve respect for the Palestinian people's legitimate right to exist."

The Palestinian Authority, led by Hamas's rivals, have semi-autonomy in major urban areas of the West Bank, with Israel controlling most of the territory.

Hamas took over Gaza in 2007, two years after Israel pulled out and dismantled settlements.

Netanyahu has poor relations with Macron, who led a push by Western nations at last year's UN General Assembly to recognise a Palestinian state.

France recently joined Britain in imposing sanctions on products from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, again angering the Israeli government.