Netanyahu's office rejects Macron claim Hamas never operated in West Bank

French President Emmanuel Macron said Hamas "has never been active in the West Bank," prompting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office to call the statement a "grotesque absurdity," citing recent Hamas-linked terror attacks in the territory.

Why this matters. The public rupture between Paris and Jerusalem over West Bank security assessments complicates coordination among Western governments on any post-war security arrangements for the territory.