The Network of Observers.

A week later, French President Emmanuel Macron broke his silence and responded with a six-page letter to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's "anti-Semitic" accusations.

According to the French news agency, the New York Times and others on the 26th, Macron in his letter to Netanyahu about France's support for the establishment of a Palestinian state in the accusations of "promotion of anti-Semitism", clearly stated that "fighting anti-Semitism should never be armed."

He emphasized,"Since the first day in office, protecting fellow Jews from the rise of anti-Semitism has been an absolute priority of my work, and this responsibility lies with France, and all state institutions are working hard to achieve this."

Macron pointed out that calling for an independent Palestinian state does not foster anti-Semitism, but rather is a ¡°necessary path¡± for Israel¡¯s and even European security.

He reiterated France's determination to recognize the Palestinian state. "Achieving lasting peace requires the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state that recognizes Israel and its security rights, achieves demilitarization and coexists peacefully with Israel."

In addition to refuting Israel's accusations, Macron also severely condemned Israel's military operations in Gaza in the letter, accusing it of launching a "brutal and illegal permanent war." He urged Netanyahu to stop the "cycle of violence" and end the "moral shame" brought about by the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.

"I solemnly appeal to you to stop this desperate, bloody and illegal permanent war in Gaza, which has brought shame and deadlock to your people." Mr. Macron also called on Mr. Netanyahu to end his "illegal and illegitimate" settlement policy in the West Bank.

Macron further pointed out that Israel's ongoing war with the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has not only caused a "terrible humanitarian disaster that has no justification in any case" in Gaza, but has also incited anti-Semitic sentiment globally.

¡°The occupation of Gaza, the forced displacement and starvation of Palestinians, inhumane hate speech, and the annexation of the West Bank will never bring victory to Israel,¡± he wrote, ¡°these actions will only make your country more isolated, harass the forces that incite anti-Semitism and jeopardize the security of the global Jewish community.¡±

The current Hamas-Israel ceasefire talks have stalled.Macron said in the letter that a preliminary draft of a peace plan had been formed at a high-level international conference hosted by the French and Saudi Arab governments to peacefully resolve the Palestinian issue and implement the ¡°Two-State Plan.¡±

"We offer you a viable path, a credible path backed by the commitment of the international community and regional partners who will contribute to peace," Mr. Macron stressed that the international community's commitment was "unprecedented". "It is your responsibility to embark on this path... What path can you offer?"

According to the British "Financial Times" report, the Israeli government has little interest in accepting Macron's proposal and refuses to ceasefire or negotiate with Hamas or the Palestinian Authority. The Israeli government recently announced that it will continue to expand settlement construction in the West Bank. The security cabinet has approved the "full occupation of the Gaza Strip" plan, sparking outrage. The Israeli Prime Minister's Office declined to comment on Macron's letter.

On April 8, Macron addressed Egypt in front of a shipment of humanitarian aid to Gaza

The New York Times said the letter was the latest development in a series of recent diplomatic disputes between France and Israel. The trigger was Macron's announcement last month that France would formally recognize the state of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September. This means that France will become the first country in the Group of Seven (G7) to recognize a Palestinian state.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas praised Macron's decision, calling it a "victory for the Palestinian cause". Hamas also welcomed it.

In a letter dated August 17, Netanyahuly criticized Macron, saying anti-Semitic attacks in France in recent years have "increased alertly" and that the French government has "failed to take decisive action to respond."

He also accused France of calling on the international community to acknowledge that the Palestinian state is ¡°putting oil on the anti-Semitic fire¡± and ¡°encouraging the forces that threaten French Jews, as well as exacerbating anti-Semitic hatred spreading in the streets of France.¡±

An official at the French presidential palace told the Financial Times that the two leaders had not spoken again since Netanyahu sent the letter.

The French newspaper Le Monde also revealed that Netanyahu's accusation letter was "leaked" by the media before it reached the French side. Therefore, Macron said in his reply that since Netanyahu made the content of the letter public before he received it, out of the principle of reciprocity, he also chose to publish the reply in the media at the same time, in order to "make the discussion between the two sides clearer".

Macron also stressed that for "fundamental politeness" his reply was first delivered to the Israeli prime minister's office and then made public on Tuesday afternoon.

In the letter, Macron reiterated that France has been actively fighting anti-Semitism, but Netanyahu accused France of ¡°failing to act,¡± an accusation that is unacceptable and an ¡°insult¡± to the whole of France.

This past weekend (24th), the French Foreign Ministry announced that it had summoned the US ambassador to France, Charles Kushner, to express dissatisfaction with his remarks accusing France of being ineffective in combating "anti-Semitism".

Charles Kushner is the father of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Trump. On the 24th, he also published a letter to Macron in the US media "Wall Street Journal", claiming that he was "deeply concerned about the sharp rise in anti-Semitism in France and the lack of sufficient action by your government to deal with this issue."

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that it would summon Kushner on the 25th. The statement said Kushner's accusations against France were "unacceptable" and "violated international law, especially the obligation not to interfere in the internal affairs of the country." However, Kushner said he was "unable to attend" and sent other officials to attend on his behalf.

On Tuesday, local time, U.S. State Department chief deputy spokesman Tommy Pigot said in an email statement that he supported Kushner's remarks, but Pyrogot did not respond to French claims that "Cushner's open letter violates international law."

With the international community calling for the implementation of the ¡°two-country plan¡± further strengthened, the G7 membership law, the UK, and the appearance policy ¡°shifted¡±, which puts the increasingly isolated Israel and its allies, the United States, under greater international pressure.

At the end of July at the UN headquarters in New York, at the high-level international conference on the peaceful settlement of the Palestinian issue and the implementation of the two-state plan, foreign ministers of 15 Western countries, including France, Canada and Australia, issued a joint statement expressing their recognition of the will of the Palestinian State and calling on other countries that have not yet recognized the Palestinian State to respond.

Abdul-Mohdi Mutawi, executive director of the Egyptian Middle East Strategic Studies and National Security Forum, said that the statements of France, Britain and other countries pose a challenge to the U.S. -Israeli policy aimed at "stifling the possibility of Palestinian statehood" and may lead more European countries to follow suit, further isolating Israel's right-wing forces internationally and putting pressure on the United States.

Gazan Hatib, a researcher at the University of Bilzaiet in Palestine, pointed out that it is alarming that countries such as France and Britain still have some political conditions in recognizing the Palestinian State, but that their policy ¡°turns¡± marks a divergent attitude of the Western camps toward the Palestinian issue. In the long run, recognizing the Palestinian State as part of a global consensus. The call for the implementation of the ¡°Two-State Plan¡± has been further strengthened by the parties, which has added momentum to the international community¡¯s efforts to resolve the Palestinian issue.

Further reading

This series of diplomatic friction stems from Western countries¡¯ different positions on the Israeli and Ukrainian issues, exposing the reality that the Western camp is experiencing multiple divisions.

According to CCTV coverage, France has suddenly fallen into diplomatic strife with many Western countries in recent days, and French President Macron has become the focus of criticism from many countries. The United States, Israel and Italy have successively questioned French policies, not only involving the Middle East peace process, but also extending to European security issues and anti-Semitism. Analysis believes that this series of diplomatic frictions stems from the different positions of Western countries on the Palestinian-Israeli and Russian-Ukrainian issues, exposing the reality that the Western camp is experiencing multiple divisions.

French President Macron Source: Xinhua News Agency

Israel accuses the law to encourage anti-Semitism

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu recently wrote a letter accusing Macron of his decision to acknowledge the Palestinian state as ¡°putting oil on the anti-Semitic fire¡± and ¡°preoccupied with the rise of French anti-Semitism and the lack of decisive response by the French government.¡±

The conflict led to rapid U.S. intervention, and U.S. Ambassador to France, Mr. Kushner, wrote to Macron, accusing France of failing to take sufficient measures to curb anti-Semitic violence.A spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry responded that ¡°the ambassador¡¯s allegations were unacceptable¡± and therefore summoned Mr. Kushner.

The French Foreign Ministry said that Cushner's remarks violated international law, in particular the obligation to not interfere in the internal affairs of others under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and "was not in line with the quality of the transatlantic relations between France and the United States and the due trust between allies."

U.S. Ambassador to France Cushner Source: News Agency

Song Lu Zheng, a researcher at the Institute of Chinese Studies at the University of Phuket, believes that France is an influential country internationally, which makes its diplomatic moves especially concerned by the outside world. For example, in recognizing the issue of the Palestinian state, although Western countries such as Britain, Spain and others have taken similar actions, and even some countries have made earlier statements, the actions of France have triggered diplomatic shock.

While the Democratic government led by former President Biden continued to support Israel¡¯s position, it still retained a degree of criticism and restriction on issues such as sovereignty, human rights and humanitarianism. During the Trump administration, it showed almost unconditional support, such as moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, without opposition when Israel claimed to be preparing to take over Gaza City. In this context, France acknowledged that the Palestinian State undoubtedly puts more international pressure on Israel and therefore provoked a strong reaction.

"Of course, personal factors also play a role. Trump appointed his in-laws and Jew kushner as ambassador to France, and the latter has a clear interest relationship with Israel. Trump's safeguarding of the interests of his family and cronies further strengthens the pro-Israel stance of the US government." Song Luzheng said. "Therefore, Macron's policy not only touches Israel's strategic interests, but also indirectly challenges the interests of related groups, thus triggering a fierce response from the United States and Israel."

The Italian mockery method wants to send troops to Ukraine

After the meeting between the presidents of the United States and Russia in Alaska, although Europe tried to participate in the negotiations as a whole, and the leaders of many countries issued a joint statement and went to the White House to hold talks with the presidents of the United States and Ukraine, they still failed to avoid exposing their differences.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Salvini said on the 20th that if Macron advocates sending European troops to Ukraine, then let him go to Ukraine himself. No Italian soldiers will be sent to Ukraine. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Italian ambassador to France on the 21st to protest that Salvini's remarks were "unacceptable." According to diplomats, France accused Salvini of violating the "atmosphere of trust, historical relations and the development status quo that both sides have recently emphasized a high degree of integration" between France and Italy.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Salvini, source: Xinhua News Agency

According to Song, Italy¡¯s opposition to France¡¯s policy stems from the political stance of its country¡¯s far-right populist ruling group. Italy¡¯s current government holds a pro-Russian stance and therefore strongly opposes Macron¡¯s proposal to send troops to Ukraine. This not only reflects the differences within the EU on major international issues, but also reflects the deepening of the rupture in European-American relations. Salvini has a close relationship with Trump, and his remarks are also aimed at favoring the United States and appealing to U.S. foreign policy.

Song Luzheng pointed out that from a more macro perspective, the above phenomena reveal that the Western camp is experiencing profound multiple divisions-including conflicts of values and contradictions in the distribution of interests. There are differences that are difficult to reconcile between the United States and Europe, between European countries, and even between political forces within a country. However, Macron faces a parliamentary structure in which three major forces are divided in domestic politics and has limited voice. Therefore, he is more inclined to seek influence and breakthroughs on the international stage through active or even radical diplomatic actions. This internal and external interaction has further exacerbated the current uncertainty and confrontation in international relations.