Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke on the phone Monday, after exchanging direct and indirect criticisms in connection with the war between Israel and terrorists in Gaza and Lebanon.
Neither the French president, who last week called for a partial arms embargo on Israel, nor the Israeli prime minister, who called Macron’s statement shameful, backed down from their positions or apologized, according to statements by the offices of both leaders.
Macron and Netanyahu “acknowledged their different viewpoints,” as well as their “desire to be well understood by each other,” a statement by the French president’s office read. Macron called for a ceasefire on all fronts.
The French president’s office on Saturday called Netanyahu’s criticism “excessive.”
Netanyahu’s office said of the call that he “repeated Israel’s positions, that as Iran supports all components of the Iranian terror axis, so are Israel’s friends expected to stand by it and not impose limitations that would only strengthen the Iranian evil axis.”
Macron and Netanyahu have agreed to speak about a future visit by Macron.
Separately, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot is in Israel to attend commemorations of the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacres. His visit began at the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem.
