French Senate's president slams Macron for linking Israel's existence to UN resolutions “I was astounded”

Gerard Larcher, President of France's Senate and the country's second most powerful figure, has said he was “astounded” by Emmanuel Macron's comments that Israel owes its existence to a UN resolution.

He accused the president of displaying ignorance of history, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

The remarks attributed to Macron that Israel needed to adhere to UN resolutions in its campaigns in Lebanon and Gaza as it was created by the world body have angered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

But there has also been a strong reaction within France, home to Europe’s largest Jewish community, with Jewish groups, political heavyweights and even Macron allies speaking out against the comments.

“It first of all shows an ignorance of the history of the birth of the State of Israel. Questioning the existence of Israel touches on fundamental questions for me. I was astounded that these remarks could be made,”  Larcher said, arguing that the creation of Israel “did not come as a notarial act merely validated by the UN.”

Larcher would take over the presidency if centrist Macron was incapacitated or suddenly resigned. He is a senior figure in the right-wing Republicans (LR) party to which Prime Minister Michel Barnier also belongs.

In a blistering attack that is highly unusual from an establishment figure in France, Larcher questioned if Macron had taken account of the 1917 British Balfour Declaration, which supported the creation of a Jewish homeland, and even the Holocaust and its consequences.

Larcher added Macron had created “doubt” with his comments and while he “did not suspect him of anything, I say that Israel’s right to exist is neither debatable nor negotiable”.

Netanyahu has hit back at Macron, saying the country’s founding was achieved by the 1948 Arab Israeli war, not a UN ruling.

He also said that among those who fought for Israel in 1948 were French Jews who had been sent to death camps after being rounded up by the collaborationist Vichy regime, which governed a large part of France during the Nazi occupation in World War II.

By Khagan Isayev