In a telephone conversation on Thursday (4) with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, Israeli chancellor Gideon Sa’ar said that French President Emmanuel Macron could only visit Israel if he withdraws his proposal to recognize a Palestinian state.
In late July, Macron had announced that France will recognize the Palestinian state at the next UN General Assembly, which will start next week.
According to information from The Times of Israel, Sa’ar said in a statement from his cabinet that he ordered Barrot during the call “that reconsider France’s initiative to recognize a ‘Palestinian State’, stating that the French initiative undermines stability in the Middle East and impairs Israel’s national and security interests.”
“Israel seeks good relations with France, but France must respect Israel’s position on essential issues for its safety and future,” Sa’ar added, who said that any Macron visit to Israel cannot be made while France “persists in its initiative and efforts that harm Israel’s interests.”
Macron recently requested a visit to Israel, but according to public broadcaster Kan, before the conversation between Sa’ar and Barrot, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had already conditioned this trip to the cancellation of the decision to recognize the Palestinian state, which Paris would have rejected.
