French President Emmanuel Macron has said the country is not supplying arms to Israel to be used in the ongoing war in Gaza.
Malcrom called on countries who have continued to supply arms for the war to completely suspend such action, while urging the conflicting countries to embrace peace through diplomacy.
“Right now, the priority is returning to a political situation, that we stop the delivery of arms being used in the war in Gaza. France is not delivering them,” Macron told French radio station France Inter on Saturday.
There has been heavy criticism for some countries including the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom by human rights groups as they have failed to suspend arms sales to Israel for the bombardment of Gaza.
France has also been accused by International NGOs, especially Amnesty International of selling arms to Israel, with the NGO’s French Chief, Jean-Claude Samouillier, penning an open letter to Macron earlier this year calling on him to suspend the export of war materials entirely.
However, the country’s defence minister Sébastien Lecornu has repeatedly insisted that the country did not supply weapons to Israel, saying it supplied “spare parts” worth 15 million euros in 2022 to Israel, with no weapons included.
Last month, the UK government announced the suspension of a fraction of its licences for items used by the Israeli military in Gaza, which brought bitter criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Germany put a pause on the approval of new arms export licences to Israel, according to a Reuters report last week, which cited a source close to the Ministry of Economy.
Macron’s call comes as Israel is also engaged in an escalating war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, where it has been carrying out a new bombing campaign comparable to its aerial assault on Gaza.
France Not Selling Arms Being Used By Israel In Gaza War – Macron is first published on The Whistler Newspaper