Israel Slams Macron’s UN Remarks On West Bank As ‘Grotesque Absurdity’

Israel on Tuesday sharply criticised French President Emmanuel Macron after he condemned Israeli actions in the West Bank and said Hamas had never carried out attacks in the territory.

“The grotesque absurdity of Emmanuel Macron’s statement is staggering,” the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

Netanyahu’s office said Hamas operatives carry out attacks against Israelis in the West Bank, which Israel refers to by the biblical name Judea and Samaria.

“Hamas terrorists carry out attacks against Jews almost every day. They have murdered countless Israeli civilians in Judea and Samaria,” the statement said.

The Israeli prime minister’s office cited the shooting death of an Israeli settler in the West Bank on Sunday, on the eve of Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest day. Israeli authorities identified the victim as Netanel Shukrun, a father of six who also held French citizenship.

The Israeli military said it arrested the Palestinian gunman at a hospital before troops raided his village. An Israeli minister subsequently called for the alleged attacker to be executed under a new law.

The exchange came after Macron used his address to the United Nations to criticise the humanitarian situation in Gaza as well as Israeli policies in the West Bank.

“What is our credibility worth if we remain inactive on Gaza?” Macron asked, arguing that claims of peace were not matched by sufficient humanitarian deliveries.

He also criticised the situation in the West Bank, saying, “Look at what is happening in West Bank, where there are violations every day. In the name of what?”

“Hamas has never struck in the West Bank,” Macron said, arguing that the continuing violence was making it increasingly difficult to secure recognition of Palestinians’ “legitimate right to exist.”

The West Bank is partly administered by the Palestinian Authority, which is a rival of Hamas. The Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule in major urban areas, while Israel maintains control over much of the territory.

Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007, two years after Israel withdrew its forces and dismantled settlements there.

The United Nations has reported a sharp level of settler-related violence against Palestinians and Palestinian property in the West Bank. Through mid-2026, the UN recorded roughly six such incidents per day.

Macron and Netanyahu have had strained relations, with Macron playing a prominent role in efforts by Western countries at last year’s UN General Assembly to recognise a Palestinian state.

France also recently joined Britain in imposing sanctions targeting products from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, a move that further strained relations with the Israeli government.