Singapore, Singapore – French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that abandoning war-torn Gaza to its fate and giving Israel a “free pass” would kill the West’s credibility with the world.
The French leader also said Europe and the United States were unable to solve crises around the world, including in Gaza and Ukraine.
“I think the credibility of both the US and the Europeans to pretend to fix the crises in these regions (are) very low,” Macron told the Shangri-la Dialogue at the end of his Southeast Asian tour.
EU leaders have toughened their tone on Israel in recent days.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday denounced attacks in the past days on civilian infrastructure in Gaza as “abhorrent” and “disproportionate”.
But the 27-member bloc has long struggled to have an impact on the conflict due to long-standing divisions between countries that back Israel and those seen as more pro-Palestinian.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire despite aid beginning to trickle back into the Palestinian territory after a more than two-month Israeli blockade.
Food security experts say starvation is looming for one in five people.
Israel has also intensified its military offensive in what it says is a renewed push to destroy militant group Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack triggered the war.
Israel accused Macron on Friday of undertaking a “crusade against the Jewish state”, after he called for European countries to harden their stance if the humanitarian situation in Gaza did not improve.
