President of the National Assembly of France Yael Braun-Pivet visited Israel on Sunday together with three French members of parliament.
The delegation joined Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana on a tour of Kibbutz Beeri, which was one of the towns that was hit the hardest in Hamas's October 7 massacre, the site of the rave near Re'im where at least 260 people were murdered, and one of the labs where ongoing efforts are being made to identify bodies.
"Only two weeks ago, this place was a paradise," Ohana told the French delegation. "But what people went through on that Saturday was more than being killed. The terrorist didn't come just to kill, they came to make a statement.
Emphasizing the damage
"If you rape rape, cut organs, decapitate, burn people alive with their hands tied behind their backs, it's more than just killing. This is why, for the first time in my life, I'm using the terminology of the Holocaust. That's what happened to the people in these villages. Eighty years after the Holocaust, we must get rid of the Nazis, and that's exactly what we're going to do."
Ohana added his support for the Jewish communities of France "who are experiencing a worrying rise in antisemitic incidents and fear for their loves from people who express support for the war crimes perpetrated by Hamas."
He also thanked France for the actions it's taking to deal with the phenomenon.
"It's very emotional and difficult to be here today leading the delegation of French parliamentary representatives," said Braun-Pivet. "But we felt that it was essential to see with our own eyes what happened here."
She added that in part, the visit was aimed at reminding Israel of the "deep friendship between the two countries" and to underline Israel's right to self defense.
"No one could have imagined that such things would happen in 2023, but here we are," she said. "Just know that France stands with you."
Braun-Pivet, who is Jewish, announced a minute of silence for the victims of October 7 during a parliamentary meeting last week.
French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to visit Israel on Tuesday. This visit will follow others made by US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and other leaders from around Europe.