Macron's UN remarks on Hamas draw Israeli condemnation

French President Emmanuel Macron’s remarks at the United Nations General Assembly that Hamas had “never struck” in the West Bank drew sharp criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office and other Israeli officials. The dispute centers on Macron’s wording: some accounts quote him as saying Hamas had never “operated” there, while others quote “never struck.” The supplied accounts do not resolve what he meant. Macron spoke on September 22 during the assembly in New York. He criticized Israeli actions in the West Bank, saying violations there made it harder to respect Palestinians’ right to exist. In the same address, he condemned the humanitarian situation in Gaza and questioned the value of claims that peace had been achieved when humanitarian deliveries had not followed. Netanyahu’s office called Macron’s statement a “grotesque absurdity” and said Hamas members carry out attacks against Jews and have killed Israeli civilians in the West Bank, which Israel also calls Judea and Samaria. Those assertions were presented by the prime minister’s office; the reports reviewed do not independently verify the claims.