Netanyahu decries Macron’s ‘grotesque’ claim that Hamas ‘never operated’ in West Bank

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-decries-macrons-grotesque-claim-that-hamas-never-operated-in-west-bank/

PM notes an Israeli with French citizenship was killed by a Palestinian terrorist just days before; French official tells ToI that Macron meant Hamas ‘doesn’t govern’ the territory

Israel shot back angrily Tuesday at French President Emmanuel Macron who, in an address to the United Nations, criticized Israeli actions in the West Bank and claimed Hamas was never active in the territory that is home to the Palestinian Authority.

“The grotesque absurdity of Emmanuel Macron’s statement is staggering,” said a statement from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is expected to deliver a defiant address to the world body on Thursday.

“Hamas terrorists carry out attacks against Jews almost every day. They have murdered countless Israeli civilians in Judea and Samaria,” it said, using the Biblical name for the West Bank, which Israel captured during the 1967 Six Day War. “Ignorance is no excuse for erasing their blood.”

Responding to the Israeli criticism, a French diplomatic official told The Times of Israel that Macron “meant to say that Hamas does not govern the West Bank.”