Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met today (Tuesday) with French President Emmanuel Macron, who is visiting due to the security situation.
Netanyahu started by telling his French counterpart that “Hamas is the new Nazi. They burned children alive, raped, kidnapped children, Holocaust survivors. Hamas is barbaric not only against Jews but also Europe, the Middle East, and the World. There is a battle here between barbarism and war.”
The Prime Minister also said that “You know them from Paris, Lyon. You can’t live with them, you need to crush them. Hamas is carrying out war crimes. No one can live with them. We asked the population in Gaza to leave the south and Hamas is preventing this. They are responsible.”
According to Netanyahu “This could be a long war. We have a first condition and this is that we must destroy Hamas. The test in the Middle East is Hamas. If it wins, civilization loses. This is the battle of Europe and America. And if Hezbollah enters they will regret it. I hope your warning and mine and of the US is sent to them.”
Macron: Returning the Captives is a Top Priority
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed support for the Israeli People: “I want to thank you for the conversation we had. I am here to support and express solidarity for everything you went through. I have come to tell the Israeli people all the condolences for your nation. I feel your enormous pain, joyous life taken. Pure violence, broken families.”
He also said that “The things you experienced surpass anything ever heard before. There is pure hatred here. In 2015 you were with us in Paris, I express my solidarity back. Hamas also attacked us. This is shared history. We also had murdered and captives.”
Macron also addressed the issue of the hostages: “I met the families of the captives, I gave my support. We will do everything to bring them all back! In France this is a top priority. Israel has the right to defend itself.”
“Hamas are terrorists like ISIS and al-Qaeda. All the democracies are on your side to defeat the terrorists, you are not alone. We want an international coalition against terrorists throughout the world. We are democracies against terrorists.”
He ended by addressing the situation in Gaza and regional threats: “We are democrats who protect the population also in Gaza. Electricity needs to be restored to hospitals without it harming the war,” he said. According to Macron, “We will provide aid to the population. We are warning Yemen, Hezbollah not to take the risk to open up another conflict. We accept the need of the Palestinians for a state but on condition that Israel has security.”