France: Macron wants anti-IS coalition also against Hamas

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“France is ready for the international anti-IS coalition, within which we are committed to our operations in Iraq and Syria, to also fight against Hamas,” Macron said on Tuesday after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv.

An international coalition against the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) was established in 2014 under the leadership of the US; Together with local groups, they subsequently managed to defeat IS militarily in Iraq and later in Syria. But he continues to attack.

“I propose to our international partners, I told them this morning, that we can form a regional and international coalition to fight against the groups that threaten us all.” He believes that this is in the interests of Israel and its security, but also in the interests of some neighboring countries that are threatened by the same or related groups. Macron assured Netanyahu of France’s solidarity in the fight against terrorism – the common enemy, as he called it.

At the same time, he warned that the battle must be waged without spreading across the region. “I warn Hezbollah, the Iranian regime, the Houthis in Yemen and all groups that threaten Israel in the region not to take the irresponsible risk and open new fronts.

That would open the door to a regional conflagration in which everyone would be a loser.” This is a necessity for all peoples in the region. “Let us do everything we can to prevent more tears and blood from being added.”

At the same time, Macron called for compliance with humanitarian principles in the fight against the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip. “The fight must be merciless, but not without rules, because we are democracies that fight against terrorists, democracies that respect the laws of war and guarantee humanitarian access,” Macron said.

He said democracies do not target civilians, neither in Gaza nor elsewhere. He called for the supply of electricity to hospitals in the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu reiterated that Israel wants to do “everything to keep Palestinian civilians out of the danger zone” and again accused Hamas of preventing civilians from entering a “safe zone” in the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu thanked Macron for his visit. “Just as in World War II, when the Allies fully supported the French resistance against the Nazis, today the international community unites in support of Israel,” Netanyahu said, again comparing the actions of the Islamist Hamas to the Holocaust. “Hamas was slaughtered, Hamas beheaded, Hamas burned babies alive, Hamas raped, Hamas kidnapped hostages.”

“Hamas’ barbarism not only threatens the Jews, it threatens the Middle East, it threatens the region, it threatens Europe, it threatens the world,” Netanyahu continued. Hamas must be destroyed.

Macron also called for finding a political solution to the conflict in the Middle East and continuing the peace process. “The stability of the region and the return to normalization will only be guaranteed if Israel’s response to the violence is ruthless but also political, by accepting the Palestinians’ legitimate right to a state.”

Israel’s security, the common fight against terrorism, respect for humanitarian law and the opening of political horizons are inextricably linked. In the afternoon, Macron wants to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Discussions with other Arab partners from the region are possible.

(SDA)

Source: Blick