French President Emmanuel Macron, in a BBC interview yesterday, became a rare Western leader who, for at least one day, could not take looking the other way as mass killings of civilians continue. After condemning Hamas and their attacks, and sharing Israel’s “willingness to get rid of terrorism,” he said: “It’s extremely important for all of us, because of our principles, because we are democracies, it’s important for the mid-to-long run, as well for the security of Israel itself, to recognize that all lives matter…. De facto—today, civilians are bombed—de facto. These babies, these ladies, these old people are bombed and killed. So there is no reason for that and no legitimacy. So we do urge Israel to stop.”
He also voiced his hope that the “pause” regime of President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu could be escalated into a ceasefire. In reporting on his Nov. 9 “humanitarian aid conference” in Paris, he said that it was the “clear conclusion” of all the governments and agencies that took part was “that there is no other solution than first a humanitarian pause, going to a ceasefire, which will allow [us] to protect ... all civilians having nothing to do with terrorists.”
