Macron Urged Ceasefire on Oct. 7, Says Netanyahu

Asked whether Macron had learned his lesson, Netanyahu said the French people “see what’s happening in the streets of France.”

By JNS Staff

French President Emmanuel Macron called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Oct. 7, 2023, to push for an immediate ceasefire while Hamas terrorists were still inside Israeli communities, Netanyahu told Israel’s Channel 14 television in an interview set for full release on Tuesday.

Macron told him the deadliest single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust should be stopped “by diplomacy,” Netanyahu said.

“No, Emmanuel. It’s not going to be solved by diplomacy,” he said he replied. “These are monsters. These are neo-Nazis.”

Netanyahu said he told the French leader at the time that Hamas is “even worse than ISIS” and warned: “If we don’t stop Hamas here, you’ll see them on the streets of Paris.”

“That’s exactly what is happening right now,” Netanyahu told interviewer Sophia Tupolev, in a reference to the violent riots rocking French cities.

Asked whether Macron had learned his lesson, Netanyahu said the French people “see what’s happening in the streets of France.” That “could foster a change in the political makeup of France,” he suggested.

Netanyahu said he “certainly” expects ties to improve if a right-wing government takes power in Paris. “It’s the common enemy that creates common interests,” he said.

The full interview is set to air on Tuesday at 5 p.m. Israel time.