Israël/Palestine - Remarks by Mr Amichai Chikli, Israeli Government minister

On 6 September, Mr Amichai Chikli, an Israeli Government minister, used offensive language to impugn the President of the Republic and the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs. This language is unacceptable and has no place in the dialogue between States.

Distorting and exploiting for political ends the positions expressed by the French authorities is unbefitting for the memory of the victims of the terrorist attack of 7 October 2023, the worst anti-Semitic massacre since the Shoah.

It is especially shocking because France has always condemned in the clearest terms those barbaric acts, during which more than 50 French nationals lost their lives. It was also following the initiative of France, together with Saudi Arabia, that the United Nations General Assembly adopted on 12 September 2025, by a very large majority of 142 States, the resolution endorsing the New York Declaration, the first United Nations text to condemn the terrorist attacks of 7 October 2023 and call for the disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from the governance of Gaza.

On 7 February 2024, France held a national tribute to the French victims of 7 October 2023. M. Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, went to Israel on 7 October 2024 to honour their memory and show his solidarity with the victims’ families and all Israeli people.

France has always stood by its firm belief that the two-state solution alone is capable of establishing a just, lasting peace that guarantees Israel’s security and regional integration and responds to the Palestinian people’s legitimate aspiration to dignity and freedom. France will tirelessly continue to act with this end in view, in conjunction with all its partners.