France’s President Macron was reportedly blocked from visiting Israel after a fierce diplomatic standoff.
In a stunning diplomatic firestorm that reveals the depths of the rift between two major world powers, French President Emmanuel Macron’s request for a “snap visit” to Israel was brutally rejected by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The reason? According to a bombshell report from Kan 11 News, Macron was given a non-negotiable condition: he must retract his intention to formally recognize a Palestinian state. Macron reportedly refused.
A high-level Israeli source, quoted in the report, pulled no punches, declaring, “We won’t let Macron play both sides.” This unprecedented diplomatic snub underscores the simmering tensions that have reached a boiling point ahead of France’s planned September 22nd announcement at the UN General Assembly.
The feud has been escalating for months. Macron has been a vocal critic of Israel’s counterterrorism operations in Gaza, at one point even demanding an arms embargo to “stop the conflict with Hamas and Hezbollah.” He has also publicly warned that Israel’s military actions may be in “breach of international humanitarian law.”
This latest clash follows a series of sharp exchanges. In a scorching letter sent in late August, Netanyahu accused Macron of fueling a “surge” in antisemitism in France with his pro-Palestine stance. “Your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on this antisemitic fire. It is not diplomacy, it is appeasement,” Netanyahu wrote, warning it would reward Hamas and embolden those who “menace French Jews.”
The French Presidency swiftly and angrily condemned Netanyahu’s accusation as “abject” and “erroneous,” firmly stating that France “protects and will always protect its Jewish citizens.”
The report confirms a previous claim by former French parliament member Meyer Habib, who told Kan 11 that Macron had been turned down by Netanyahu, citing that “it’s not the right time for a visit.” This new detail, however, reveals the underlying reason for the rejection, exposing a high-stakes power play with global implications.
