France’s Macron Demands Equal European Support for Gaza and Ukraine

France’s Macron Demands Equal European Support for Gaza and Ukraine

News May 17, 2025
France’s Macron Demands Equal European Support for Gaza and Ukraine
Albania (Quds News Network)- French President Emmanuel Macron called on European leaders on Friday to respond with “coherence” to the situations in both Ukraine and Gaza, urging a united diplomatic and humanitarian approach. “I really want us to collectively wake up here about the coherence we must uphold on these matters. Deep down, we can see it: all these situations show the need for peace, the obvious necessity of returning to diplomacy,” Macron said at the opening of the sixth European Political Community summit in Albania. “Most of the humanity is watching us and sometimes they don’t really understand what we’re doing about Ukraine, but we must explain,” he said on Friday. “They don’t understand us at all about Ukraine when we remain silent about Gaza. They tell us: ‘It is strange. You tell us that our life is at stake when territorial sovereignty is attacked, and you close your eyes when there is a massacre’,” Macron added. “I don’t compare anything. I know the stories. But I really want to wake us up collectively about the coherence we must have on this.” Referring to what he described as an “unacceptable humanitarian situation in Gaza,” Macron called for an “immediate ceasefire” and a coordinated humanitarian response. Many have argued that the West's support for Ukraine, often framed as a commitment to international law, has been undermined by the same countries' weak support for Gaza. On Tuesday, the French president said he was “shaken” by the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip during an interview on the television channel TF1. “Shameful”, he used this word to express his views on the Israeli policies during the Gaza genocide. “It's terrible. (...) There's no water, there are no medicines. They can no longer evacuate the injured," said the president, responding to the testimony of an emergency doctor who had traveled to the enclave twice. "I say it forcefully, what the government of Benjamin Netanyahu is doing today is unacceptable," continued Macron. “We need the United States. President (Donald) Trump has the levers. I have had tough words with Prime Minister Netanyahu. I got angry, but they (Israel) don’t depend on us, they depend on American weapons,” he said. Macron emphasized that he himself had visited the border between Egypt and Gaza earlier this year where he saw that “all the aid that France and other countries deliver” is “blocked by the Israelis.” “This is an unacceptable humanitarian tragedy,” he said, adding that “it is not up to a president of the republic to say ‘this is a genocide’ but rather to historians.” “My job is to do everything I can to make it stop,” Macron also said, while raising the possibility of revisiting the European Union’s cooperation agreements with Israel. In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Macron had opted to stand with Hamas and “echo its despicable propaganda” and Defense Minister Israel Katz warned him “not lecture us on morality.” Since March 2, Israel has closed Gaza’s main crossings, halting the flow of food, medical aid, and other humanitarian supplies. This blockade has caused a severe and unprecedented decline in living conditions, with human rights organizations and countries accusing Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war against Palestinians. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, issued earlier this week, warned that almost a quarter of the civilian population would face catastrophic levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase Five) in the coming months. Israel also resumed its genocide in Gaza on March 18 after violating the ceasefire agreement signed in January, killing over 2,900 Palestinians and wounding more than 8,100—mostly children and women, according the Palestinian Health Ministry. Macron’s remarks come as the Israeli military said extensive attacks have been launched over the past 24 hours in the “opening moves” of operation “Gideon’s Chariots”, which will see forces “seize controlled areas in the Gaza Strip”. Thousands of Palestinians have also fled areas in northern Gaza amid indiscriminate air strikes that have killed more than 115 people in the territory since dawn on Friday.

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