‘Don’t reward Palestinian terror with state, Netanyahu tells Macron after son wrote ‘screw you’

Netanyahu slams French push for Palestinian statehood as a “prize for murderers.”

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Recognizing a Palestinian state would serve as a reward for the October 7 massacres and Palestinian terror, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told French President Emmanuel Macron during a phone call on Tuesday.

The conversation came on the heels of an announcement by Macron that he is planning to officially recognize Palestine, adding that he will meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to hammer out the details in the near future.

On Saturday, addressing Macron, Netanyahu’s son Yair wrote on X: “Screw you! Yes to independence of New Caledonia! Yes to independence to French Polynesia! Yes to independence of Corsica! Yes to independence of the Basque Country! Yes to independence of French Guinea! Stop the neo imperialism of France in west Africa!”

During the conversation, the prime minister “expressed aggressive opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state and said that it would be a great prize for terrorism,” said a media statement from Netanyahu’s office.

Netanyahu was said to have “reminded” Marcon that “no Palestinian Arab official, including those in the Palestinian Authority, has condemned the October 7 massacre and that the PA educates its children to destroy Israel and distributes prizes to murderers of Jews.”

The premier added that “a Palestinian state minutes away from Israel’s cities would be a stronghold for Iranian terrorism, and a huge majority of the Israeli public opposes it strongly.”

The statement did not include Macron’s reaction to Netanyahu’s remarks.

Last week, Macron wrote on social media platform X that France’s stance on a Palestinian state is “Yes to peace. Yes to Israel’s security. Yes to a Palestinian state without Hamas.”

Netanyahu released a statement about Macron’s posts, saying that the French leader is “severely mistaken” in his position.

A Palestinian state would “only aim to destroy Israel,” Netanyahu wrote. “We will not endanger our existence because of illusions that are disconnected from reality.”

Netanyahu also challenged France’s apparent hypocrisy in its stance, as Paris continues to act as a colonial power controlling smaller countries across the globe.

“We will not accept moral preaching to create a Palestinian state that endangers Israel’s existence from the one who refuses to grant independence to Corsica, New Caledonia, French Guiana, and other territories whose independence does not threaten France in any way,” Netanyahu stated.