Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should not fail to forget that a UN resolution created Israel, French President Emmanuel Macron said while convening with ministers on Tuesday, according to Le Parisien.
"Netanyahu must not forget that his country was created by a decision of the UN. Therefore, he should not liberate himself from the decisions of the UN," the French daily newspaper cited Macron as saying behind closed doors.
Macron's remarks referenced the UN Resolution 181 adopted on November 29, 1947.
"A reminder to the French President: It was not a UN decision that established the State of Israel but the victory that was achieved in the War of Independence with the blood of our heroic fighters, many of whom were Holocaust survivors, including from the Vichy regime in France," the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) stated in response.
Le Parisien noted that the French president's comments were made in relation to Israel's operation in southern Lebanon and the recent incidents concerning the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which saw IDF troops firing at UNIFIL posts along the border.
"It would also be worthwhile to recall that in recent decades, the UN has approved hundreds of antisemitic decisions against the State of Israel, the purpose of which is to deny the one and only Jewish state's right to exist and its ability to defend itself," the PMO added.
Guterres rejects Netanyahu's request
Earlier this week, Netanyahu asked UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that UNIFIL soldiers be evacuated from their posts in southern Lebanon.
“The IDF has requested this repeatedly and has met with repeated refusal, which has the effect of providing Hezbollah terrorists with human shields,” Netanyahu said.
Guterres rejected Netanyahu's call for evacuation, with the UN chief's spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, affirming, “Peacekeepers remain in all positions, and the UN flag continues to fly." Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.