By Marco Hugo Barsotti MHB 
You are listening to a new special from am1575news, France24 and Radio Centrale Milano, in podcasting and on the medium waves.
Macron at the UN
The French president Emmanuel Macron, in his latest address on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, denounced the humanitarian situation in Gaza and criticized Israeli policy in the West Bank, stating that “Hamas has never struck in the West Bank”. A sentence that triggered an angry response from Jerusalem.
Netanyahu’s reaction
The Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Macron’s words “grotesque absurdity” in an official communiqué from his office, emphasizing the recent murder of an Israeli settler, father of six children, that occurred on Sunday in the area. The victim, Netanel Shukrun, also held French citizenship. The army arrested the Palestinian suspect in a hospital and then carried out a raid in the suspect’s home village.
Death penalty law
A minister of Netanyahu’s government has requested the execution of the fugitive, citing the new Israeli regulation that provides the death penalty for Palestinians deemed guilty of terrorism. The proposal has returned to the centre of internal debate, while French authorities have recently imposed sanctions on products from the settlement areas, adding a new level of diplomatic tension.
International calls
The United States diplomat in the United States, Mike Huckabee, also condemned Macron’s remarks, calling them “out of touch with reality”. He recalled that Hamas remains a global threat and that the attacks by that group have killed American citizens.
On-the‑ground context
The conflict in the West Bank continues to generate daily violence: extremist Israeli settlements, often with army support, perpetrate attacks against the Palestinian population. The United Nations reports an average of six violent incidents per day in the region, a figure that fuels international concerns about the territory’s stability.
Future prospects
Tensions between Israel and France, already heightened by Macron’s push last year for recognition of a Palestinian state, seem destined to intensify. Netanyahu, ready to intervene at the UN on Thursday, promises to defend the Israeli position against external criticism, while Paris maintains its commitment to a solution based on international law.
Editorial by Rachel – Macron: another premiere theatrics
The great Macron, now a master of missteps, has decided to greet his power circle at the UN with a phrase that sounds more like a TV‑quiz riddle: “Hamas has never struck the West Bank”. But does it really surprise us? After denouncing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, he took a moment to give a political geography lesson to those who, evidently, have not yet received the updated textbook. It’s the same old recipe: a dash of extremism, a pinch of moralism, and off goes the next diplomatic storm.
Israel, for its part, reacted with the precision of a war surgeon, calling the statement “grotesque” and “absurd”. A bit like an elephant punching a mouse, then being surprised by the wound. The move to point the finger at the French president, while the daily incidents of settlers against Palestinians multiply at a survival pace, is the classic case of someone shouting “fire!” while he himself throws gasoline. And not to forget the dramatic declaration of a new death‑penalty decree for Palestinians: why not turn justice into a Quentin Tarantino screenplay?
The communique from US ambassador Mike Huckabee, “out of touch with reality”, adds a touch of political Dadaism, almost as if it were an obvious warning signal for the world: perhaps reality is such that it can no longer contain these words. And France, which has just imposed sanctions on products from Israeli suburbs, finds itself in the same line of those who, with a serious face, invite to “restart” international rules, while meanwhile cutting a piece of cake for everyone else. An elegant case of “six because it cannot be”.
Macron, therefore, is the new protagonist of a little theater of disappointments where the audience no longer counts the scenes, but only waits for the 2027 intermission, when perhaps the plot will finally have a decent ending. In the meantime, we continue to count the embarrassing figures: we have already lost track, and the countdown to the next show has already started.
Koan of the day
Monaco: Master, why did the world president dare to say that Hamas never attacked in the West Bank?
Master: Because words are the only guns he can fire on a stage where all actors change the script every time the light comes on.
Monaco: And then, what truth remains when reality is a carpet of lies woven by those who hold the microphone?
Master: Truth is an echo that bounces in the voids of our pretensions; if you listen, you’ll realize silence is the only answer the world accepts without translation.
This is all for now. From the Paris editorial office I am Rachel Costa: this is am1575news, France24 and Radio Centrale Milano.