French source to i24NEWS: Macron's Hamas remark was mistranslated, not claim it never operated in West Bank

A French diplomatic source spoke to i24NEWS to address the criticism from Israeli officials directed at President Emmanuel Macron. The source said, "There was a translation error that led to a misinterpretation." The source said Macron's original French phrase, "le Hamas n'a jamais sévi en Cisjordanie," was translated as "Hamas was never proactive," when its actual meaning is "Hamas never ruled the West Bank."

The clarification follows Macron's address to the 81st session of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, in which he said "Hamas has never operated in the West Bank" while criticizing the situation there. His remarks drew immediate backlash from Israeli officials, coming just days after Netanel Shukron, a French-Israeli father of six, was killed near the N'vei Tzuf spring in the Binyamin area by an attacker Israeli officials said was affiliated with Hamas.

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office had called Macron's remarks "a grotesque absurdity," saying "ignorance is no excuse for erasing their blood." Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote on X that "President Macron is lying," citing Shukron's killing among "hundreds of attacks" he said Hamas has led in the West Bank.

Israeli advocacy activist Yoseph Haddad also rejected Macron's claim, pointing to the 2002 Park Hotel bombing in Netanya, which he said was linked to a Hamas cell based in Tulkarm.

During his address, Macron also criticized the international response to the war in Gaza, questioning "what is the value of our credibility if we remain inactive regarding Gaza." He called the lack of humanitarian access "shameful" despite claims that peace had been achieved, and said only a fully sovereign Lebanese state could disarm Hezbollah.