"France is behaving hypocritically" Israeli experts on Caliber.Az

As previously reported by Caliber.Az, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has instructed his ministry to initiate legal proceedings against French President Emmanuel Macron after Paris banned Israeli companies from participating in the upcoming arms exhibition.

To discuss the future of Israel-France relations, a Caliber.Az correspondent interviewed Israeli political analysts.

As noted by international relations expert Rabbi Michael Finkel, the Euronaval international arms exhibition is scheduled to take place in Paris from November 4 to 7, where Israeli defence companies were supposed to participate.

"However, it seems a call came from Macron's administration, prohibiting the event organizers from allowing Israeli companies to take part in the exhibition. This action by the French president triggered a massive outcry in Israel, prompting Foreign Minister Katz to instruct his subordinates to sue Emmanuel Macron. Why did this happen? Let’s try to understand.

Let’s recall that Macron has accused Israel of committing what he describes as near-genocide in Gaza. He cited statistics from Hamas, which claimed that Israeli forces had killed over fifty thousand civilians in a year, including women, children, and the elderly. However, remarkably, no terrorists were reported killed. In contrast, official statistics from Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israel Defense Forces indicate that over 18,000 armed Hamas terrorists were actually killed, along with just over a dozen civilians. This information is documented and proven. The reality is that these civilians were killed because they failed to evacuate in time, despite numerous warnings and humanitarian corridors being provided, or because they were used by Hamas as human shields, or they were relatives or close friends of the terrorists targeted by the IDF. This illustrates a stark contrast between fabricated and actual statistics. Yet it seems that Macron places more trust in the data provided by Hamas’s Ministry of Health.

Macron has called for an embargo on arms supplies to Israel, after which France ceased to deliver several critical military components to the country. When all of this happens against the backdrop of the catastrophic war Israel is currently waging—the largest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust, coupled with a second front in Lebanon and the struggle against Hezbollah—this can only be described as a stab in the back. Furthermore, Macron's approach toward Hezbollah is similar, as he urges Israel ‘not to bomb Lebanon.’ However, he is well aware that Israel is not bombing Lebanon itself, but rather targeting military bases of Hezbollah located within the country. We are not at war with Lebanon, its regular army, or its civilian population.

What motivates Macron? He is undoubtedly driven by a desire to court the Arab electorate in France, where there is a large and rapidly growing Arab community. France, after decolonization, welcomed many Arabs, including those from Syria and other countries. Israel is far away, while the Arab voter is nearby.

The second reason is the significant business interests France has with Arab countries that are unfriendly toward Israel. Well, let’s see what happens next. Fortunately, Israel possesses not only military capabilities but also strong connections, including in the White House, which can exert pressure on Paris. France is a NATO member and is largely dependent on the US, so I believe this crisis, like other previous crises involving France, will be resolved," asserts Finkel.

According to Israeli journalist and Middle East expert Michael Borodkin, France has recently taken a very peculiar stance regarding Israel.

"If immediately after the terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, President Macron visited Israel to express support and was even the only Western leader to call for the formation of an international coalition against Hamas, similar to the coalition formed against ISIS, today Paris is behaving quite differently.

Macron recently called for the world to stop supplying arms to Israel. This understandably sparked outrage in Israel, and Netanyahu responded very sharply to Macron. Following this scandal, the French president softened his rhetoric somewhat.

The situation with the Euronaval exhibition reflects this same strange anti-Israel policy. Interestingly, this is the second such incident. Some time ago, Israeli companies were denied participation in another arms fair in France. At that time, the Israelis filed a lawsuit, and a French court overturned the ban, but this occurred only at the end of the event. Perhaps this time the court will respond more swiftly.

Overall, France is behaving hypocritically. It claims to be a defender of Lebanon, yet it hasn't lifted a finger while Iran, through Hezbollah, has been undermining the sovereignty of that country. But when Israel seriously confronted Hezbollah, France suddenly rushed to defend the Lebanese.

Recently, Le Figaro published an interview with Iranian Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf, who stated that Iran is ready to discuss the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701. This outraged even the powerless Lebanese Prime Minister Mikati, who remarked that such matters fall under Lebanon's authority. All of this demonstrates that France continues its colonial policy and discusses its ‘sphere of influence’ with another colonial power—namely Iran—while disregarding the interests of the Lebanese people," concluded Borodkin.