Overview

• Israel’s Kan 11 reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conditioned a Macron visit on France dropping its recognition plan, and that Macron refused.
• The proposed trip was to precede the UN General Assembly, where Macron has said he intends to recognize a Palestinian state on September 22.
• In a recent letter, Netanyahu accused Macron’s push of fueling antisemitism in France, a claim the French Presidency denounced as “abject” and “erroneous.”
• Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told his French counterpart that Macron is not welcome while the initiative stands and urged France to withdraw it.
• French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot defended the initiative, citing what he called unprecedented commitments from the Palestinian Authority, an independent audit on prisoner payments, and pledges from Arab states and Turkey under a July New York declaration.