Macron calls on US to pressure Israel to accept a ceasefire plan

27/9/2024 6:05

        French President Emmanuel
        Macron on Thursday called on the United States to pressure
        Israel to accept a plan for a 21-day ceasefire in Lebanon,
        saying an Israeli invasion would be a huge mistake.
        
        Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz had earlier rejected a
        French-U.S. proposal for a 21-day truce. Prime Minister Benjamin
        Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to keep fighting with
        full force.
        
        Macron, speaking in English, told the Canadian Broadcasting
        Corporation there was still time for Netanyahu to commit to the
        plan.
        
        "And I do believe that the U.S. now has to increase the
        pressure on the prime minister of Israel to do so," he said. If
        Netanyahu said no, Macron said, France would raise the matter at
        the United Nations Security Council.
        
        "We wait for all the partners to be very vocal and committed
        with us in order to send this clear message: Israel cannot
        invade Lebanon today. War is not possible in Lebanon today; it
        would be a huge mistake, a huge risk of escalation," he said.
        
        Macron earlier told a news conference in Montreal that he
        did not think the comments by Israeli officials on the ceasefire
        idea were definitive.
        
        He also said France was opposed to Lebanon becoming a new
        Gaza, calling on Israel to stop its strikes and Hezbollah to
        stop retaliating.