ReportedDiplomacy & politicsUnited Nations, New York, United States
Israel denounces Macron's UN remark that Hamas was never active in the West Bank
- Mountain Time
- Local time
- 4:14 PM in New York
- Where
- United Nations, New York, United States
French President Emmanuel Macron told the UN General Assembly that "Hamas has never been active in the West Bank," drawing a response from Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that Macron was "lying" and a statement from Netanyahu's office calling it a "grotesque absurdity." A French source said Macron meant that Hamas has never governed the territory.
Why it matters
The row widened the rift between Israel and France at a General Assembly where Macron also called reopening the Strait of Hormuz a priority.
Sources (4)
- The Times of Israeltimesofisrael.com
- The Times of Israel live blogtimesofisrael.comPublished
- RTE Newsrte.iePublished
- The Jerusalem Postjpost.comPublished
Confidence: Published by a named news organization. Not yet independently confirmed. About confidence labels
Correction
- Corrected the time from 11:14 PM UTC time, Sep 22, 2026 to 4:14 PM New York time, Sep 22, 2026; corrected the headline (it read "Netanyahu's office rejects Macron claim Hamas never operated in West Bank"); revised the summary; revised the context note; corrected the location from United Nations, New York, USA to United Nations, New York, United States; updated the sourcing note; added 3 sources: The Times of Israel live blog, RTE News, The Jerusalem Post. Why and evidence