France condemns Israeli minister’s accusations of inciting hatred

Paris: France on Thursday dismissed claims by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar that European governments were inciting hatred against his country.

“These are completely outrageous and completely unjustified remarks,” foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said.

“France has condemned, France condemns and France will continue to condemn, always and unequivocally, any act of anti-Semitism.”

In Washington on Wednesday, two Israeli embassy staffers were shot dead outside a Jewish museum by a gunman who shouted “free Palestine” as he was arrested.

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu led global condemnation of the attack, each of them blaming anti-Semitism.

Israel’s foreign minister said: “There is a direct line connecting anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli incitement to this murder.”

He added: “This incitement is also done by leaders and officials of many countries and international organizations, especially from Europe.”

Tensions have risen in recent days between Israel and European governments over Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and the plight of civilians in the territory.

Speaking in the southern French city of Nice, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot reiterated that France had condemned the killing as “a horrific attack targeting Israeli diplomats.”

He said he had sent a message to his Israeli counterpart “to tell him how saddened I was by what had happened, how much I was thinking of the families of these diplomats but also of all their colleagues at the Israeli foreign ministry.”

“This blind violence is obviously unjustifiable,” he added.

“We deplore an explosion of anti-Semitic acts that we have seen on our territory in recent years, but we are fighting this explosion with the utmost determination,” he said.

France’s Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau told police earlier Thursday to “step up surveillance at sites linked to the Jewish community.”

On Monday, the leaders of Britain, France and Canada condemned Israel’s “egregious actions” in Gaza and warned of joint action if it did not halt a heightened military offensive on the Palestinian territory.

Last week France’s President Emmanuel Macron accused Netanyahu of “unacceptable” behavior in holding up aid to the Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is fighting to crush the militant group Hamas.

Netanyahu accused Macron of siding with a “murderous Islamist terrorist organization.”