Macron compares Israeli hostages to jailed terrorists, sparking backlash

After sparking ire in Israel by announcing plans to recognize unilateral Palestinian statehood, France’s president again comes under fire for comparing Israeli hostages to jailed Arab terrorists.

By World Israel News Staff

French President Emmanuel Macron drew sharp criticism from Israel on Friday after footage showed him appearing to conflate Israeli hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip with Arab terrorists jailed in Israel.

Speaking with reporters during a press conference at the Élysée Palace in Paris in June, Macron said his approach to ending the war in Gaza included a firm demand to free “the hostages” – a condition which he later clarified included not only Israeli captives held hostage by Gazan terrorists, but also Arab security prisoners imprisoned for terrorism in Israel.

“I pushed everyone to say, ‘First release the hostages, and a ceasefire,’ and therefore we must push,” Macron said.

After a reporter asked whether this demand included Arab prisoners held in Israel, Macron responded in the affirmative.

“Yes, all of them. All of them. On both sides,” Macron said.

The French NGO October 7 Collective excoriated Macron shortly after the press conference, calling his comments “shocking.”

“No, sir, Emmanuel Macron, there aren’t hostages ‘on both sides’,” the Collective tweeted.

“This statement is shocking. We cannot put on the same level the Israeli hostages of October 7^th who were kidnapped by Hamas in an explosion of barbaric violence, still held in inhumane conditions; and the Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, who benefit from rights guaranteed by a democracy.”

Jean-David Ichay, president of the October 7 Collective, called the comparison made by Macron “despicable.”

“Just when we felt betrayed by Emmanuel Macron’s announcement to recognize a Palestinian state without even taking into account his promise to do so only after the hostages were released, we came across this video from June 14, and it is truly a shock to see that he is making a despicable conflation between Israeli hostages held by Hamas under deplorable conditions and Palestinian prisoners,” Ichay told i24NEWS.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called Macron’s comments an example “of the lie and moral distortion of French policy.”

“President Macron speaks about the release of hostages,” Sa’ar tweeted.

“He is asked: ‘Does that include the Palestinian hostages?’ and replies: ‘Yes, all the hostages.’ Applause. In Hamas tunnels in Gaza, there are Israeli civilians who were abducted from their homes. In Israeli prisons, there are Palestinian terrorist murderers. This abhorrent symmetry — that’s the whole story.”

Emmanuel MacronFranceIsraeli captives in Gaza