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- 鈥淭hese are completely outrageous and completely unjustified remarks,鈥� foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said
PARIS: France on Thursday dismissed claims by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar that European governments were inciting hatred against his country.
鈥淭hese are completely outrageous and completely unjustified remarks,鈥� foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said.
鈥淔rance has condemned, France condemns and France will continue to condemn, always and unequivocally, any act of anti-Semitism.鈥�
In Washington on Wednesday, two Israeli embassy staffers were shot dead outside a Jewish museum by a gunman who shouted 鈥渇ree Palestine鈥� as he was arrested.
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu led global condemnation of the attack, each of them blaming anti-Semitism.
Israel鈥檚 foreign minister said: 鈥淭here is a direct line connecting anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli incitement to this murder.鈥�
He added: 鈥淭his incitement is also done by leaders and officials of many countries and international organizations, especially from Europe.鈥�
Tensions have risen in recent days between Israel and European governments over Israel鈥檚 military offensive in Gaza and the plight of civilians in the territory.
Speaking in the southern French city of Nice, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot reiterated that France had condemned the killing as 鈥渁 horrific attack targeting Israeli diplomats.鈥�
He said he had sent a message to his Israeli counterpart 鈥渢o tell him how saddened I was by what had happened, how much I was thinking of the families of these diplomats but also of all their colleagues at the Israeli foreign ministry.鈥�
鈥淭his blind violence is obviously unjustifiable,鈥� he added.
鈥淲e deplore an explosion of anti-Semitic acts that we have seen on our territory in recent years, but we are fighting this explosion with the utmost determination,鈥� he said.
France鈥檚 Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau told police earlier Thursday to 鈥渟tep up surveillance at sites linked to the Jewish community.鈥�
On Monday, the leaders of Britain, France and Canada condemned Israel鈥檚 鈥渆gregious actions鈥� in Gaza and warned of joint action if it did not halt a heightened military offensive on the Palestinian territory.
Last week France鈥檚 President Emmanuel Macron accused Netanyahu of 鈥渦nacceptable鈥� behavior in holding up aid to the Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is fighting to crush the militant group Hamas.
Netanyahu accused Macron of siding with a 鈥渕urderous Islamist terrorist organization.鈥�