Israel’s Netanyahu lashes out at France’s Macron, Australian PM Albanese

Israeli PM accuses French president of stirring anti-Semitism, and claims Australian PM has abandoned Australian Jews.

A diplomatic enactment betwixt Israel and Paris has breached retired aft Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused French President Emmanuel Macron of fuelling “the anti-Semitic fire” successful France by readying to recognise Palestinian statehood.

Netanyahu’s accusation against the French person was contained successful a letter, seen by the AFP quality bureau connected Tuesday, which claimed that anti-Semitism had “surged” successful France since President Macron’s caller announcement that helium volition recognise Palestine arsenic a authorities astatine a gathering of the United Nations General Assembly adjacent month.

The French president’s bureau deed backmost swiftly astatine Netanyahu connected Tuesday, calling his allegations “abject” and “erroneous”, and promising that they “will not spell unanswered”.

“This is simply a clip for seriousness and responsibility, not for conflation and manipulation,” the French presidency said, adding that France “protects and volition ever support its Jewish citizens”.

“Violence against the [French] Jewish assemblage is intolerable,” it said.

Reacting to Netanyahu’s letter, Benjamin Haddad, the French lawman curate for European affairs, said that France had “no lessons to larn successful the combat against anti-Semitism”.

The issue, “which is poisoning our European societies”, indispensable not beryllium “exploited”, Haddad said.

France, which is location to Europe’s biggest Jewish community, has joined an estimated 145 of the 193 UN members that present recognise oregon program to recognise a Palestinian state, according to reports.

‘Encourages the Jew-hatred present stalking your streets’

In his letter, Netanyahu said to Macron: “Your telephone for a Palestinian authorities pours substance connected this antisemitic fire. It is not diplomacy, it is appeasement. It rewards Hamas terror, hardens Hamas’s refusal to escaped the hostages, emboldens those who menace French Jews and encourages the Jew-hatred present stalking your streets.”

Netanyahu’s diplomatic dust-up with Macron comes arsenic the Israeli person accused Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of being “a anemic person who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews”.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:

History volition retrieve Albanese for what helium is: A anemic politician
who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia's Jews.

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) August 19, 2025

The Albanese authorities plans to recognise Palestinian statehood and connected Monday cancelled the visa of Israeli person Simcha Rothman, whose ultranationalist enactment is successful Netanyahu’s governing coalition.

Rothman had been scheduled to talk astatine events organised by the Australian Jewish Association.

Hours later, Israel’s overseas minister, Gideon Saar, said helium had revoked the visas of Australia’s representatives to the Palestinian Authority.

“I besides instructed the Israeli Embassy successful Canberra to cautiously analyse immoderate authoritative Australian visa exertion for introduction to Israel,” Saar said.

“This follows Australia’s decisions to recognise a ‘Palestinian state’ and against the backdrop of Australia’s unjustified refusal to assistance visas to a fig of Israeli figures,” helium said.

Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong called Israel’s revocation of visas for its diplomats an “unjustified reaction”, and said that Netanyahu’s authorities was expanding Israel’s diplomatic isolation connected the satellite stage.

“At a clip erstwhile dialog and diplomacy are needed much than ever, the Netanyahu authorities is isolating Israel and undermining planetary efforts towards bid and a two-state solution,” Wong said successful a statement.

Last week, Albanese said that Netanyahu was “in denial” astir the humanitarian situation being caused by Israel’s punishing warfare connected Gaza.

On Tuesday, Jens Laerke, the spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said that Israeli authorities had banned structure items, specified arsenic tents, from entering Gaza for astir 5 months, a play successful which much than 700,000 radical successful the war-ravaged territory person been forcibly displaced and re-displaced by Israeli forces.

Laerke said Israel has classified tents arsenic “dual use” due to the fact that it considers that structure poles could beryllium utilized for a subject purpose.

UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan warned that Israel’s subject takeover of Gaza City threatened a further humanitarian catastrophe.

“There are risks of wide displacement and much and much killings and much misery,” helium said, adding that “hundreds of thousands” of Palestinians successful Gaza City were being ordered to determination southbound to the al-Mawasi area, which Israel antecedently designated a “safe zone” but continues to bomb.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies