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Netanyahu calls Macron's remarks on West Bank in UN speech 'grotesque'

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Gritten, D. (2026, September 23). Netanyahu calls Macron's remarks on West Bank in UN speech 'grotesque'. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ck1l6yyg52qvo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

BBC News · collected 2026-09-23 · by David Gritten

Quick Summary

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly criticized French President Emmanuel Macron after Macron commented on violations in the occupied West Bank during his UN address, calling Hamas's presence there "grotesque." Netanyahu responded by stating that Hamas terrorists attack Jews daily in the region. A diplomatic source clarified that Macron’s statement was misinterpreted; he meant to say Hamas has never governed the West Bank. The incident follows the murder of a French citizen, Netanel Shukrun, by a Palestinian gunman near a West Bank settlement two days prior to Yom Kippur.
Written by AI on 2026-09-23, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In his final speech at the United Nations General Assembly on September 22, Emmanuel Macron, criticized Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan, describing it as a spectacle that should shame everyone. Macron pointed out that no humanitarian corridors had reopened in Gaza despite the proclaimed peace. He also rebuked increased settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and claimed Hamas had never operated there. This statement was met with strong opposition from Israel, particularly Benjamin Netanyahu who called it a "grotesque absurdity," citing recent attacks on Israeli civilians attributed to Hamas in the West Bank. The French government later clarified that Macron’s intent was to say Hamas has never governed the West Bank, not that they have never been active there, leading to a diplomatic dispute over his comments' translation and interpretation.

Written for “Macron UN Speech Controversy Gaza Wes…” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 7 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Macron UN Speech Controversy Gaza Wes…
Politics · 8 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 10% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Hindu
Hedges 1 of 26 claims Outlet record 60/100
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 2 of 20 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles discuss Macron's speech at the UN, they cover different parts of it and subsequent reactions. Article A focuses on Macron's criticism of Trump regarding Gaza, while Article B reports Netanyahu's reaction to Macron's remarks about the West Bank.”
The Independent
Hedges 0 of 26 claims Outlet record 59/100
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 1 of 17 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles describe different speeches by Netanyahu and Abbas at the UN General Assembly, not a single specific incident.”
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 12 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles describe reactions to different statements made about the West Bank: Netanyahu's response to Macron's UN speech and Smotrich's call for war, which are separate events.”
Al Jazeera
Hedges 5 of 57 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles describe different events: one is about Netanyahu's reaction to Macron's UN speech, while the other reports on Smotrich's call for war in the West Bank.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 1 of 29 claims Outlet record 68/100
“Article A focuses on Netanyahu's reaction to Macron's remarks about the West Bank, while Article B describes a separate speech where Netanyahu made claims about Israel's right to wage war against Iran and alleged genocide in Gaza.”
CBS News
Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A describes Netanyahu's reaction to Macron's remarks about the West Bank, while Article B discusses delegates walking out during Netanyahu's speech at the U.N. General Assembly.”
Palestine in focus Different event
Dawn
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 0 of 20 claims Outlet record 72/100
“Article A reports on Netanyahu's immediate response to Macron's remarks during his UN speech, while Article B describes a broader context of criticism against Israel at the UN General Assembly.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
10%
2 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
68/100
BBC News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
8
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-23 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

BBC News · 4736 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

Who wrote this

David Gritten
17 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
🔮 Both leaders have said they will try to form a governing coalition.
🔮 Two Israeli broadcasters projected that Eisenkot's Yashar party and three other Jewish opposition parties in his "Change Bloc" would win 51 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, as would Netanyahu's Likud party and its far-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish allies.
🔮 "We vowed the terrorists would not escape punishment, and no proponent of dark ideologies that divide Jordanians will be tolerated," he wrote on X. "We pray that the martyrs' souls rest in peace and wish the injured a speedy recovery.
🔮 In a telephone interview with the BBC's Today programme from her hospital bed in central Israel on Monday, Levine said it "could have been a lot worse".
🔮 He said the government continued to carry out its duties and vowed that it would not weaken the resolve of its forces to continue operations against the Houthis on Yemen's south-western Red Sea coast and other front lines.
🔮 In other photos, dozens of containers and their contents could be seen floating in the water.
🔮 Iran insisted it would not give up some measure of control over the waterway and targeted vessels using a southern route through Omani waters that avoids its preferred route through Iranian waters.
🔮 UAE Attorney-General Hamad al-Shamsi said on Saturday that his country's investigations would establish the full circumstances, motives and any links related to the incident, and that the results would be announced upon their conclusion.
🔮 - Published Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian has told the UN General Assembly that it will never "bend the knee" after almost seven months of war with the US and Israel, but is ready for a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
🔮 The US military has yet to release the findings of its investigation into the Minab strike, but Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said it would "never target civilian targets".
Also by David Gritten
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 17 articles by David Gritten →

Topics

French Hamas Israel Israeli the West Bank

Subjects

Hamas ORG · 7× Israeli NORP · 6× the West Bank GPE · 6× Israel GPE · 5× French NORP · 4× Macron PERSON · 4× Jews NORP · 3× Judea GPE · 2× Palestinian NORP · 2× West Bank GPE · 2×

Narrative

The source told the Jerusalem Post, external that the meaning of the French sentence spoken by the president, "Le Hamas n'a jamais sévi en Cisjordanie," was, "Hamas has never governed the West Bank." Macron also rejected US President Donald Trump's assertion that he had ended the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-23

Claims (21 extracted, 2 hedged)

- Published Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned French President Emmanuel Macron after he criticised Israel's actions in the occupied West Bank during his address to the UN General Assembly. asserted
he → publish → Assembly
"Look at what's happening in the West Bank, where day in, day out, we are seeing violations. asserted
we → look → violations
Hamas was never very active in the West Bank," Macron said in French, according to the UN's interpreter. uncertain
Macron → say → interpreter
Netanyahu called the remarks a "grotesque absurdity" and said members of the Palestinian armed group there "carry out attacks against Jews almost every day". asserted
members → call → Jews
There was no response from Macron's office, but one French diplomatic source said there had been a "misinterpretation". asserted
source → be → office
The source told the Jerusalem Post, external that the meaning of the French sentence spoken by the president, "Le Hamas n'a jamais sévi en Cisjordanie," was, "Hamas has never governed the West Bank." Macron also rejected US President Donald Trump's assertion that he had ended the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. asserted
he → tell → Strip
Violence there has continued despite last October's ceasefire, including almost daily Israeli strikes, while humanitarian conditions remain dire " asserted
conditions → continue → strikes
Some boast of a supposed peace. asserted
Some → boast → peace
But that peace has not reopened humanitarian access for a single second," he said. asserted
he → reopen → second
"Are we simply to stand by and watch this spectacle that should shame us all?" asserted
that → stand → us
After the address, the Israeli prime minister's office said in a statement: "The grotesque absurdity of Emmanuel Macron's statement is staggering." asserted
absurdity → say → statement
"On Sunday, the eve of [the Jewish holy day of] Yom Kippur, just two days ago, Netanel Shukrun - a French citizen and father of six - was murdered in his car by a Hamas terrorist in Judea and Samaria," it added, using a biblical term for the West Bank. asserted
it → murder → Bank
"Hamas terrorists carry out attacks against Jews almost every day. asserted
terrorists → carry → Jews
They have murdered countless Israeli civilians in Judea and Samaria." asserted
They → murder → Judea
The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, also denounced Macron's remarks as "out of touch with reality". asserted
ambassador → denounce → reality
Shukrun, 36, was shot dead when a Palestinian opened fire on a group of Israelis at a spring near the West Bank settlement of Neve Tzuf, according to Israeli police. uncertain
Palestinian → shoot → police
The suspect was arrested later at a hospital in the city of Ramallah, they said. asserted
they → arrest → Ramallah
Hamas praised the attack but did not say it was behind it. asserted
it → praise → it
The group - which is designated as a terrorist organisation by Israel, France and other countries - is a rival of the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank that are not under Israeli control. asserted
that → designate → control
Israel has built about 160 settlements housing 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem - land Palestinians want, along with Gaza, for a hoped-for future state - during the 1967 Middle East war. asserted
Palestinians → build → war
An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside them. asserted
Palestinians → estimate → them
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