PARIS: France on Tuesday slammed as “abject” and “erroneous” an accusation from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that President Emmanuel Macron’s move to recognize a Palestinian state was fueling antisemitism in his country.
France “protects and will always protect its Jewish citizens,” Macron’s office said, adding that a letter from Netanyahu containing his allegation “will not go unanswered.”
“This is a time for seriousness and responsibility, not for conflation and manipulation,” the French presidency added.
Last month, Macron said France would formally recognize a Palestinian state during a UN meeting in September, the first G7 country to do so.
The move drew a swift rebuke from Israel. In a letter sent to Macron, seen by AFP, Netanyahu claimed that antisemitism had “surged” in France following the announcement.
“Your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on this antisemitic fire. It is not diplomacy, it is appeasement. It rewards Hamas terror, hardens Hamas’s refusal to free the hostages, emboldens those who menace French Jews and encourages the Jew-hatred now stalking your streets,” Netanyahu wrote in the letter.
France is among at least 145 of the 193 UN members that now recognize or plan to recognize a Palestinian state, according to an AFP tally.
Australia joined the list earlier this month, announcing its intention to recognize a Palestinian state in September.
“Violence against the (French) Jewish community is intolerable,” the French presidency said.
“That is why, beyond criminal convictions, the president has systematically required all his governments since 2017 — and even more so since the terrorist attacks of October 7, 2023 — to show the strongest action against perpetrators of antisemitic acts,” it said.
Macron’s minister for Europe, Benjamin Haddad, separately said in reaction to Netanyahu’s letter that France has “no lessons to learn in the fight against antisemitism.”
The issue “which is poisoning our European societies” must not be “exploited,” Haddad added.
France is home to Europe’s biggest Jewish community.
Reported antisemitic acts in France surged from 436 in 2022 to 1,676 in 2023, before dipping to 1,570 last year, according to the interior ministry.
France calls Netanyahu antisemitism claim ‘abject’
https://arab.news/pnx2z
France calls Netanyahu antisemitism claim ‘abject’
- Benjamin Netanyahu: ‘Your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on this antisemitic fire’
- Minister Delegate for European Affairs Benjamin Haddad said that France has ‘no lessons to learn in the fight against antisemitism’
German railway Deutsche Bahn hit by cyberattack
- The distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack caused problems with the railway’s website
- “Our defensive measures were effective in minimizing the impact on our customers,” DB said
BERLIN: A cyberattack against Germany’s state-owned railway Deutsche Bahn briefly disrupted ticketing systems and timetable information services this week, the company disclosed Wednesday.
The distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack caused problems with the railway’s website and its widely used DB Navigator app on Tuesday afternoon.
The website and app issues were mostly resolved by Tuesday evening, but resurfaced again on Wednesday morning.
Deutsche Bahn is Germany’s dominant rail service, operating both passenger and cargo trains as well as suburban commuter railways in many cities.
“Our defensive measures were effective in minimizing the impact on our customers,” Deutsche Bahn said.
The company has been in contact with Germany’s BSI cybersecurity authorities, an interior ministry spokeswoman said Wednesday, adding that she could provide few additional details about the attack.
