Emmanuel Macron speaks at the American Cemetery in Normandy during the 75th anniversary of D-Day, on June 6, 2019. In this solemn setting, the French president carries France’s voice. Credits: Defense Visual Information Distribution Service via Picryl.com.
In New York, Emmanuel Macron spoke before the UN General Assembly on September 22, 2026. He denounced the situation in Gaza and the West Bank. His line about Hamas sparked anger from the Israeli government. The next day, a French diplomatic source questioned by the Jerusalem Post cited an interpretation issue. The disagreement concerns the activity of the Palestinian movement, but also humanitarian access and civilian safety.
The Line That Triggered The Israeli Response
In his September 22 speech, the French president denounces the violations committed in the West Bank and asks in whose name they are being carried out. He adds: “Hamas has never operated in the West Bank.” This wording appears in the transcript published by the Élysée.
The passage is part of a defense of Palestinian sovereignty. Macron criticizes states for supporting this principle unevenly depending on the region of the world. He presents respect for Palestinian rights as a condition for Israel’s security, to which he reaffirms his commitment.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office responds by denouncing “grotesque absurdity.” It says Hamas members attack Jews almost daily in the West Bank. This frequency is a claim by the Israeli government; its publication provides no count to verify it.
Governing A Territory And Carrying Out Attacks There
On September 23, a French diplomatic source explained to the Jerusalem Post what the president meant. He was supposedly referring to the absence of Hamas government in the West Bank. The source cites a misinterpretation of his words during translation. This explanation comes from an unnamed interlocutor. It offers a reading of the president’s intent, without changing the French sentence published by the Élysée.
The institutional distinction is real. Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007. In the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority, dominated by Fatah, a rival movement, administers part of the territory under Israeli occupation. The two territories have therefore not followed the same political path since that break.
Hamas’s armed activity in the West Bank is documented as well. On June 20, 2023, four Israelis were killed near the Eli settlement. The attack targeted a restaurant and a gas station. Hamas presented the two gunmen as members of its armed wing. Its spokesman Hazem Qassem justified the attack by citing an Israeli operation carried out the day before in Jenin.
This precedent is enough to contradict a reading of the president’s remark that would deny any violent action by Hamas in the territory. It does not, however, prove the daily frequency claimed by the Israeli government, nor the movement’s responsibility for every recent attack.
The September 20 Attack At The Center Of The Rebuttal
To support its response, Benjamin Netanyahu’s office cites the death of Netanel Shukrun, killed two days before the speech. It presents him as a French citizen and attributes his killing to a Hamas member. The French nationality and this affiliation are the elements put forward by the Prime Minister’s Office.
On September 20, Shukrun had gone with his eldest son near a natural spring, close to Neve Tzuf. This resident of the Alei Zahav settlement was the father of six children. He had come there before Yom Kippur. Shot while in his vehicle, he was taken to the hospital, where he died. His son survived.
The Israeli army announced that it had arrested the suspect in a hospital facility near Ramallah. According to its account, a soldier wounded him during his escape. Soldiers from the Duvdevan unit then found him thanks to Shin Bet intelligence. Shin Bet is Israel’s domestic security service.
Hamas welcomed the attack in a statement, without explicitly claiming responsibility for it. This public support is not enough to establish the attacker’s membership in the movement. Nor does it prove the existence of a Hamas order.
In Gaza, Aid That Enters Under Heavy Restrictions
Regarding Gaza, Macron denounced a “supposed peace” that would not have restored humanitarian corridors. He also referred to “a spectacle that shames us all.” UN data, however, describe a degraded level of access, with actual goods entering.
The September 18, 2026 report comes from OCHA, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. It says Kerem Shalom remains the only operational crossing for cargo. Zikim has been closed since May 24.
From September 7 to 13, the unloading rate at Kerem Shalom fell to 70%, down from 77% the previous week. It concerns UN aid trucks and those of its partners. For the Egyptian corridor, it reaches only 35%. These rates compare the cargoes actually unloaded with those authorized to appear on transport lists. They do not measure the share of humanitarian needs covered.
The OCHA report of September 11 gives a concrete example of the obstacles. The request concerned nearly 37,000 pieces of lumber and 660 emergency shelter kits. It was denied after two prior rejections. The agency says the Israeli authorities cited security reasons.
The same document describes a shortage of motor oil, essential for generators powering health and water facilities. Since March 1, 13,445 liters had received Israeli authorization. At the same time, 92,778 liters were still awaiting approval from the UN aid-tracking mechanism. These figures exclude oil intended for bakeries.
These observations document significant blockages. They do not describe a total closure of humanitarian access. They also do not tally the crossings from the day of the speech alone.
In The West Bank, Violence With Lasting Effects
The violence against Palestinians mentioned by Macron is also tracked by OCHA. Its September 18 report records more than 1,600 settler attacks since the start of 2026. They caused casualties or property damage in 275 Palestinian communities. More than 2,600 people were displaced in the context of this violence and the related access restrictions.
This tally of attacks is distinct from the casualty count. OCHA separately tracks demolitions and Israeli military operations.
The July 23 report already counted more than 1,330 settler attacks in 250 communities since the beginning of the year. It described damaged homes, destroyed pipes, and difficulty accessing water. The consequences therefore go beyond the moment of the assault: they also affect housing, income, and essential services.
The Two-State Solution Remains The French Framework
The controversy comes a year after France’s recognition of the State of Palestine, announced on September 22, 2025. The two-state solution envisions the coexistence of Israel and a Palestinian state. Each would have its own sovereignty and security guarantees.
During that announcement, Macron had defended a transitional administration in Gaza that would include the Palestinian Authority. He also had planned for Hamas’s disarmament and dismantling. French support for a Palestinian state therefore came with the movement’s exclusion from the envisioned governance.
Benjamin Netanyahu is due to address the General Assembly himself on Thursday, September 24, according to AFP.