Rafah: Macron warns Netanyahu that any “forced population transfer” would constitute a “war crime”

Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: CHRISTOPHE ENA / POOL / AFP 7:39 p.m., March 24, 2024

French President Emmanuel Macron raised his voice on Sunday towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, once again marking "his firm opposition" to an Israeli offensive on Rafah and warning that "the forced transfer of the population constituted a war crime". During a telephone interview with the head of the Israeli government, the French leader also "strongly condemned the recent Israeli announcements regarding colonization" while Israel announced on Friday the seizure of 800 hectares of land in the occupied West Bank.

“An immediate and lasting ceasefire”

He also informed Benjamin Netanyahu of his intention to bring a draft resolution to the UN Security Council to call for “an immediate and lasting ceasefire”. Moscow and Beijing opposed a similar resolution proposal from Washington on Friday, denouncing in particular a "hypocritical" text. Five and a half months of devastating war have plunged the Gaza Strip into a catastrophic humanitarian situation. The French president insisted that Israel open “without delay and without conditions all existing land crossing points to the Gaza Strip.”

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