Nothing Justifies France's Hypocritical Attitudes Towards Israel

A textbook case of anti-Israel hypocrisy

“Nothing justifies the major escalation underway in south Lebanon.” - French President Emmanuel Macron

First, let’s outline the facts - not opinions, facts - that are incontestable:

On August 11th, 2006, the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved SC Resolution 1701, which called for an end to hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, the withdrawal of both Israeli and Hezbollah forces from southern Lebanon, and the disarmament of Hezbollah. Three days later, a fragile ceasefire began.

Why fragile? Because Hezbollah did not withdraw from southern Lebanon, and rather than disarm, radically increased the number of guided and unguided ballistic missiles and rockets under its control.

Hezbollah’s intent in amassing this huge arsenal was always clear: to deter Israel from attacking Iran’s nuclear program, and ultimately to serve as the means to destroy the Jewish State altogether.

The day after Hamas’ surprise invasion of Israel’s southern communities on October 7th, 2023, Hezbollah began firing guided rockets and artillery shells into northern Israel, in what it called solidarity with the Palestinians of Gaza (Hezbollah’s own name for the conflict that ensued is the “Gaza Support War”¹). As a result of Hezbollah’s nonstop attacks, many of Israel’s northern communities became uninhabitable, with up to 100,000 Israelis forced to evacuate their homes.

Israel retaliated by hitting Hezbollah positions with airstrikes, artillery fire, and drone strikes. The back-and-forth eventually led to Israel’s famous pager operation, the subsequent detonation of Hezbollah walkie-talkies, and finally the assassinations of Hezbollah’s senior leadership, including Hassan Nasrallah and his presumed successor, Hashem Safieddine. Israel also conducted a ground invasion, until Hezbollah finally agreed to a ceasefire on November 27th, 2024, that reaffirmed UNSCR 1701, and gave Israel freedom to respond to violations of the agreement without waiting for approval from the Security Council or any other national or international body.²

Rather than disarm, as mandated by the reinforced Resolution 1701, Hezbollah attempted to rebuild its military capabilities; and while the Lebanese army claimed that it was successfully disarming the terrorist group, Israeli intelligence recognized that their claim was farcical - as indeed became apparent when Hezbollah again began shelling Israeli communities on March 2nd of this year in response, it said, to the assassination of Iranian leader Ali Khamenei.

For the past three months, Israel has again been fighting against Hezbollah; and this time, instead of waiting for the Lebanese army to falsely claim that it is disarming Hezbollah and will secure the area adjacent to the Lebanon-Israeli border, the IDF declared that it is creating a security zone in southern Lebanon that will ensure that Israeli communities are beyond the range of most of Hezbollah’s weaponry.

Despite Israeli advances into Lebanese territory - and despite a supposed ceasefire agreement essentially imposed upon Israel by the United States - Hezbollah has continued to shoot drones, missiles, and rockets into Israel; and two days ago Israel advanced deeper into Lebanon, capturing the strategic crusader-era Beaufort Castle near the Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh, which stands about nine miles away from the Israeli border.

Those are facts. And France responded to those facts by demanding an immediate meeting of the UN Security Council. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said, “I have requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council because, while we recognize Israel’s right, like that of all countries, to self-defense… nothing can justify the continuation of Israeli military operations in Lebanon and its ever-deeper occupation of Lebanese territory.”

French President Emmanuel Macron echoed these words when he said that “nothing justifies” the IDF’s continued strikes deeper into Lebanon.

Is that really France’s position - that nothing justifies IDF advances further into Lebanon?

What does the French foreign ministry want Israel to do instead: allow Hezbollah to continue shooting rockets and missiles and drones and artillery at innocent Israeli civilians? Because Macron and Barrot’s imbecilic demands are nothing less than an insistence upon Israeli capitulation - that is, that Israel do nothing to protect its northern communities, leaving them at the mercy of Hezbollah’s continued and relentless launching of missiles, drones, and rockets.

Again: what would France have Israel do instead of what it is doing? The only options are to allow Hezbollah a free pass to fire at Israel’s north, or to pretend that the Lebanese army will confront Hezbollah itself - something that it has clearly been unable or unwilling to do in the fifteen months between the ceasefire of 2024 and the renewed Hezbollah shelling that began in March. Notably, France did not offer any other solution other than to censure Israel for daring to protect itself.

Apart from its maddening illogic, France demonstrates the height of hypocrisy by criticizing Israel for acting as France itself did, with far less justification.

Nothing justifies advancing nine miles into Lebanon? Then why were 70,000 French soldiers deployed to Afghanistan between 2001 and 2012, where they hunted al-Qaeda terrorists as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, and were part of the International Security Assistance Force which fought against the Taliban? What justified French involvement in faraway Afghanistan that would be prohibited to Israel nine miles from its own border?

Nothing justifies advancing nine miles into Lebanon? Then why did the French air force participate in Operation Harmattan in Libya in March 2011, resulting in crushing instability, a civil war, and ultimately the deaths of between 20,000 and 50,000 civilians with over 10% of the population fleeing the country? What justified French bombing in faraway Libya that should be prohibited to Israel nine miles from its own border?

Nothing justifies advancing nine miles into Lebanon? Then why did France send 18,000 soldiers to Saudi Arabia in January 1991 - soldiers who liberated Kuwait from the Iraqis, and subsequently pushed into Iraq itself? Why did the French air force conduct 2000 sorties during that war? What justified French participation in faraway Iraq that must be prohibited to Israel nine miles from its own border?

France is today’s poster child for the twin vices of anti-Israel criticism cosplaying as humanitarian concern: castigating Israel for military activities that it would do and has done itself; and demanding that Israel “stop” without indicating what Israel should do instead.

Like Hamas, Hezbollah embeds itself in civilian population centers and infrastructure; like Hamas, Hezbollah intentionally puts civilians in harm’s way, thereby either protecting its fighters and materiel or, should these fighters be attacked, causing Israel to look like wanton killers; like Hamas, Hezbollah believes in an Islamist fantasy that the world’s perfection depends upon its conquering of the West, starting with Israel - and no possible setback will deter either of them from trying to achieve their apocalyptic goal; and like Hamas, Hezbollah initiated this and all of its previous rounds of fighting with Israel.

Israelis just want to be left alone; unfortunately, our enemies have not given us that luxury. Fortunately, for all their faults, our political leadership ignores the Macrons and Barrots of the world who insist that Israel allow itself to be the world’s sitting duck.

We tried that strategy before, and then came October 7th. We’re not trying that strategy again - and we will never allow France to dictate rules of engagement that it would never impose upon itself.

1. https://www.google.no/books/edition/Moral_Farming_of_Immoral_Tobacco/ajCKEQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Gaza+%22Support+War%22+hezbollah&pg=PA127&printsec=frontcover

2. https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/hyrtvffmjl