French President Emmanuel Macron has urged Israel to uphold laws of war and humanitarian values in its conflict with the Palestinian Islamist Hamas Movement in the Gaza Strip.
Macron said this today in Tel Aviv during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Macron said, “The fight must be merciless, but not without rules, because we are democracies fighting terrorists, democracies that respect the law and guarantee humanitarian access.
“Democracies do not target civilians, either in Gaza or anywhere else,” he added.
Macron notably demanded that electricity be provided to Gaza’s hospitals.
He added that the Middle East problem must have a political resolution and that the peace effort must continue.
“The stability of the region and the return to normalcy would only be guaranteed if Israel’s response to violence is relentless but also political, accepting the legitimate right of the Palestinians to a state.”
He also noted that Israel’s security, battle against terrorism as a team, adherence to humanitarian law, and the emergence of a political future are all inexorably interwoven.