► Wen Observer Network Ruan Jiaqi

A week later, French President Macron broke his silence on Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu¡¯s ¡°anti-Semitic¡± accusations, responding with a six-page letter.

According to reports from Agence France-Presse, The New York Times and others on the 26th, Macron responded strongly to Netanyahu's accusation that France's support for the establishment of a Palestinian state is "encouraging anti-Semitism" in his letter, clearly stating that "combating anti-Semitism must not be weaponized."

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 the establishment of an independent Palestinian state does not encourage anti-Semitic sentiment. On the contrary, it is the "only way" for the security of Israel and even Europe.

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."

Beyond rejecting Israeli accusations, Macron also harshly condemned Israeli military operations in Gaza, denouncing it as launching a ¡°cruel and illegal permanent war¡±, urging Netanyahu to end 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. This war has brought humiliation to your country and brought your people to a deadlock." Macron also called on Netanyahu to end his "illegal and unreasonable" settlement policy in the West Bank.

Macron further pointed out that the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has not only caused ¡°a terrible humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza without any justification whatsoever¡± but has also sparked anti-Semitism globally.

"The occupation of Gaza, the forced displacement of Palestinians into famine, inhuman 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, allowing those forces that use the topic to incite anti-Semitism to become more rampant and endanger 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 have provided you with a feasible path, a credible path with the commitment support of the international community and regional partners, who will help peace," Macron stressed, stressing that the commitment of the international community is "unprecedented". "It is your responsibility to embark on this path ¡­ What kind of path can you provide?"

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

On April 8, Macron delivered a speech ahead of Egypt¡¯s humanitarian aid shipment 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.

Israel reacted strongly. In a letter dated "August 17," Mr. Netanyahu reportedly criticised Mr. Macron, saying there had been an "alarming surge" of anti-Semitic attacks in France in recent years and that the French government had "failed to respond decisively".

He also accused France of calling on the international community to recognize a Palestinian state of "fueling anti-Semitism" and "fueling forces that threaten French Jews and exacerbating the anti-Semitic hatred spreading on the streets of France."

A French presidential office official told the Financial Times that the two leaders have not spoken since Netanyahu sent the letter.

French media Le Monde also disclosed that Netanyahu's accusation letter was "leaked" by the media before it could reach France. Therefore, Macron said in his reply that since Netanyahu had disclosed the contents of the letter before he received it, he also chose to publish the reply in the media at the same time out of the principle of reciprocity, in order to "make the discussions between the two sides clearer."

Mr. Macron also stressed that out of "basic courtesy," his reply had been delivered to the Israeli prime minister's office before it was made public on Tuesday afternoon.

In the letter, Macron reiterated that France has been actively combating anti-Semitism, but Netanyahu accused France of "inaction" in the letter, which is unacceptable and "offensive" to France as a whole.

Just last weekend (24), the French Foreign Ministry announced that it had summoned the U.S. ambassador to France, Charles Kushner, to express his dissatisfaction with his remarks accusing France of being ineffective in fighting anti-Semitism.

Charles Kushner, the father of President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, also published a letter to Macron on the Wall Street Journal on the 24th, claiming that he "is deeply concerned about the sharp rise of antisemitism in France and the lack of sufficient action by your government to address this issue."

The French Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it would meet with Mr. Kushner on the 25th. The statement called Mr. Kushner's accusations against the French "unacceptable" and "a violation of international law, in particular the obligation not to interfere in the internal affairs of states." However, Mr. 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 Spokesperson Tommy Piggott expressed support for Kushner's remarks in an emailed statement. But Piggott did not respond to France's claim that "Kushner's open letter violated international law."

As the international community's calls for the implementation of the "two-state solution" have intensified, the G7 members France, the United Kingdom, and Canada have shown a policy "shift", which has placed increasingly isolated Israel and its ally the United States under more international pressure.

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

Abdul-Mohdi Mottawi, executive director of Egypt's Middle East Strategic Studies and National Security Forum, said the comments by countries such as France and the UK posed a challenge to US and Israeli policies aimed at "killing the possibility of Palestinian statehood" and could 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.

Extended reading

This series of diplomatic frictions stems from the different positions held by Western countries on the Palestinian-Israeli and Russia-Ukraine issues, exposing the reality that the Western camp is experiencing multiple divisions.

France has suddenly fallen into a diplomatic clash with many Western countries, and French President Macron has become the focus of multinational criticism. The United States, Israel and Italy have successively challenged French policies, not only concerning the Middle East peace process, but also extending to European security issues and anti-Semitism issues. Analysis suggests that this series of diplomatic friction comes from Western countries holding different positions on the Israeli and Russian issues, exposing the reality that the Western camp is experiencing multiple divisions.

French President Macron Source: Xinhua News Agency

Accusations against 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 Kushner, source: Xinhua 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 in this. Trump appointed family, Jewish Kushner as ambassador to France, the latter being clearly associated with Israel. Trump¡¯s defense of the interests of his family and close believers has further strengthened the U.S. government¡¯s pro-government stance.¡±Song Lu Zhen said, ¡°Therefore, Macron¡¯s policy not only touched Israel¡¯s strategic interests but also indirectly challenged the interests of affiliated groups, thereby provoking a fierce response from both countries.¡±

Italian ridicule wants to send troops to Ukraine

After the Alaska meeting between the US and Russian presidents, although Europe tried to participate in the negotiations as a whole, the leaders of many countries issued a joint statement together and went to the White House for talks with the US and Ukrainian presidents, 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 Foreign Ministry on the 21st summoned the Italian ambassador to France, protesting Salvini's remarks "unacceptable".According to diplomats revealed, France's accusations against Salvini's remarks contradict the "atmosphere of trust, historical relations and the recent emphasis on the high level of integration development status" of the two countries.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Salvini Source: Xinhua News Agency

In Song Luzheng's view, Italy's opposition to French policies stems from the political stance of its domestic far-right populist ruling group. The current Italian government holds a pro-Russian stance, so it expressed strong opposition after Macron proposed the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine. This not only reflects the differences within the EU on major international issues, but also reflects the deepening rift in EU-US relations. Salvini has close relations with Trump, and his statement also has the intention of pleasing the United States and echoing the United States 'diplomatic policy.

In a more macro-specific perspective, the phenomenon reveals that the Western camp is experiencing deep multiple divisions¡ªincluding conflicts of values and distribution of interests. Differences between U.S. and European countries, and even between domestic political forces, are difficult to reconcile. While Macron is faced with the three most powerful parliamentary patterns in domestic politics, the power of speech is limited, and therefore is more inclined to seek influence and breakthroughs on the international stage through active and even radical diplomatic actions.