French President Emmanuel Macron said today that it would be a mistake for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reject the proposed cease-fire in Lebanon and that he will take responsibility for a possible regional escalation, reported Agence France-Presse, quoted by BTA.
„The proposal that was made is solid. It was not made in the air,”, Macron said at a joint press conference in Montreal with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
It was “prepared, agreed upon with Prime Minister Netanyahu and his teams, both by the Americans and by us”, the French president emphasized.
„I think it would be wrong for the (Israeli) Prime Minister to refuse it, because he would be taking responsibility for a regional escalation, obviously with new civilian casualties in Lebanon, but also for an escalation far beyond that, which nobody has to be able to control“, he stressed.
„It is absolutely necessary that we achieve a ceasefire immediately”, said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, referring to “horrifying footage”.
The United States, the European Union and other French allies, as well as several Arab countries, have issued a joint call for a 21-day ceasefire in Lebanon after Israeli airstrikes this week killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands of people in Lebanon .
The call for a three-week ceasefire came hours after Israel's army chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, told his soldiers yesterday to prepare for a possible ground offensive against Hezbollah.
The French president indicated that he believed Israel's initial reactions to the proposal were not “definitive” and raised the question of the possibility of convening a new meeting of the UN Security Council on the subject in order to “increase the pressure”.