JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by telephone with French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday, his office said, and told him that placing restrictions on Israel will just serve Iran and its proxies.
Macron said on Saturday that shipments of arms to Israel used in the war in Gaza should be stopped as part of a broader effort to find a political solution to the conflict.
“Just as Iran supports all parts of the Iranian terror axis, so are Israel’s friends expected to support it, and not impose restrictions that will only strengthen the Iranian axis of evil,” Netanyahu told Macron, according to a statement from his office.
Israel has sharply escalated its attacks on Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah in recent weeks, following a year of lower level cross-border conflict waged in parallel with Israel’s war against Palestinian militants Hamas, also backed by Iran, after the Oct. 7 attacks last year.
The Israeli government says it aims to allow Israelis to return to their homes in northern Israel, after being evacuated amid Hezbollah rocket attacks that began on Oct. 8 last year.
“The prime minister emphasized that Israel’s actions against Hezbollah create an opportunity to change reality in Lebanon to better stability, security and peace in the entire region,” the statement said.
The two leaders agreed to maintain a dialogue on the matter during the French foreign minister’s visit to Israel on Monday, Netanyahu’s office said.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot is on a four-day trip to the Middle East. Paris is seeking to play a role in reviving diplomatic efforts as the Gaza war has widened to Lebanon.
Macron told France Inter radio on Saturday that the priority was “to get back to a political solution (and) that arms used to fight in Gaza are halted. France doesn’t ship any”.
“Our priority now is to avoid escalation. The Lebanese people must not in turn be sacrificed, Lebanon cannot become another Gaza,” he added.
France is not a major weapons provider for Israel, shipping military equipment worth 30 million euros ($33 million) last year, according to the Defence Ministry’s annual arms exports report.
(Reporting by Maayan Lubell; Editing by James Mackenzie and Frances Kerry)
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