Macron To Halt Arms Sales For Use In Gaza

French President Emmanuel Macron has called for the complete suspension of the sale of arms used in the war in Gaza, while stressing France has not been involved in their supply.

“Right now, the priority is returning to a political situation, that we stop the delivery of arms being used in the war in Gaza. France is not delivering them,” Macron told French radio station France Inter on Saturday.

Several countries including the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom have been criticized by human rights groups for failing to suspend arms sales to Israel as its bombardment of Gaza has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead.

France’s defense minister Sébastien Lecornu has repeatedly insisted that the country mainly supplies “spare parts” to Israel — worth 15 million euros in 2022 — and has supplied “no weapons.”

This response has failed to satisfy French and international NGOs, including Amnesty International, whose French chief Jean-Claude Samouillier penned an open letter to Macron earlier this year calling on him to suspend the export of war materials entirely.

Last month, the UK government announced the suspension of a fraction of its licenses for items used by the Israeli military in Gaza, which brought bitter criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Germany put a pause on the approval of new arms export licenses to Israel, according to a Reuters report last week, which cited a source close to the Ministry of Economy.

Macron’s call comes as Israel also engages in an escalating war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, where it has been carrying out a new bombing campaign comparable to its aerial assault on Gaza.

CNN/Shakirat Sadiq