Macron blames Israel, not Hezbollah, for escalation in Middle East

French President Emmanuel Macron had a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the wake of the escalation of hostilities between Israel and the Hezbollah terrorist group.

According to sources familiar with the matter, Macron contacted Netanyahu to reprimand him over the regional situation. "You have a responsibility to prevent escalation. There is a diplomatic path. This is the moment to show leadership and responsibility. Your activity in the north is pushing the region to war," he said.

It seems that Macron was referring to the Israeli operation involving a large number of beepers and walkie talkies belonging to Hezbollah terrorists which recently exploded in Lebanon and Syria, killing dozens and injuring thousands. He also brought up the bombing which killed Ibrahim Aqil, the number two leader for of the Lebanese Islamist organization. 

However, Netanyahu suggested to the French president that he should reproach Hezbollah, and not Israel, since the terrorist group has been attacking villages in the north of the Jewish state with rockets since the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip broke out following the October 7 massacre perpetrated by it and other Palestinian terrorist groups.

"Instead of putting pressure on us, it's time for you to put pressure on Hezbollah," Netanyahu responded. "We are going to bring our citizens back home. That is a decision we made this week and we will implement it," the Israeli president added, in a clear reference to the tens of thousands of residents of northern Israel who had to leave their homes because of the attacks perpetrated by Hezbollah and are still waiting to return to their communities.

Israel: "We will do what we must"

A French diplomatic source said, "We are still convinced that a diplomatic settlement in the north is possible if all parties take responsibility. The latest security developments are worrying because they feed a new escalation dynamic," Israel's Channel 12 reported.

In response to the French president’s statements, sources in Jerusalem said: " You French do what you still think you can in the diplomatic context. We will do what we must," Channel 12 reported.

The Aqil-planned terrorist attack that killed 58 French military personnel

It is also worth mentioning that Macron decided to recriminate Netanyahu and not Hezbollah, despite the fact that Ibrahim Aqil, the terrorist killed this Friday by Israel, planned and carried out an attack killing 58 French servicemen.

The attack on Beirut, claimed by a group called Islamic Jihad, occurred when two trucks driven by suicide bombers struck two buildings in the Lebanese capital. The attack also killed 241 U.S. military personnel and six civilians.

The UN passed a resolution to try to limit Israel from defending itself against terrorism

The conversation was held two days after the UN General Assembly approved, with a large majority, the Palestinian proposal demanding, among other things, an arms embargo on Israel.  The proposal also calls to implement International Criminal Court resolutions, which mainly call for ending the Israeli presence in what it called "Palestinian territories" within six months, withdrawing its troops from there and ending settlements in the West Bank.