On September 4th, Israeli Foreign Minister Saar said in a phone call with French Foreign Minister that France must respect Israel's position on core issues related to Israel's security and future.
Israeli Foreign Minister Saar has demanded that France reconsider its decision to recognize the state of Palestine and stated that if France insists on harming Israeli interests, French President Macron will "not be able" to visit Israel.
Xinhua News Agency reported that on Thursday (September 4th), Saar had a phone call with French Foreign Minister Baro, stating that France's plan to recognize the state of Palestine would harm Israel's national and security interests. Israel is committed to developing good relations with France, but on core issues related to Israel's security and future, France must respect Israel's position.
According to an earlier report by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu refused Macron's visit to Israel before France announced its recognition of the Palestinian state. Netanyahu said that the condition for Macron's visit to Israel is to withdraw the decision to recognize the state of Palestine. Macron refused.
On August 26th, the French newspaper Le Monde published a letter from Macron to Netanyahu. Macron pointed out in the letter that occupying the Gaza Strip and forcing Palestinians to flee will never bring victory to Israel. He reiterated France's determination to recognize the state of Palestine.
Macron said on July 24th that France will officially recognize the state of Palestine at the 80th United Nations General Assembly in late September. Subsequently, Western countries such as the UK, Canada, and Australia successively expressed plans or preparations to recognize the state of Palestine. The international community's call for the implementation of the "two-state solution" has been further strengthened.
