Macron's UN Remarks on Hamas in West Bank Draw Israeli Condemnation

French President Emmanuel Macron's recent statement at the UN General Assembly, asserting that Hamas has never caused trouble in the West Bank, has ignited strong reactions in Israel. The assertion directly contradicts readily verifiable facts, including a recent fatal attack on Sunday, just before Yom Kippur, where Natanel Shicron, a French citizen, was murdered in a terrorist attack by a Hamas operative in the West Bank. Hamas has been active in the West Bank since the late 1980s, shortly after its establishment in Gaza in December 1987 during the First Intifada. The organization initially participated in protests and clashes with the IDF, while simultaneously building an independent infrastructure that competed with the PLO and Fatah, maintaining a leadership presence to this day.

Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, Hamas operated a clandestine infrastructure in the West Bank, carrying out attacks against Israelis. A significant turning point occurred in April 1993, months before the Oslo Accords, when Hamas conducted its first suicide bombing near the settlement of Machola in the Jordan Valley. Following the signing of the Oslo Accords in September 1993, Hamas became a staunch opponent of the peace process and a rival to more moderate Palestinian factions in the West Bank. The group rejected mutual recognition between Israel and the PLO and the establishment of the Palestinian Authority, continuing its violent activities aimed at disrupting the process.

During the wave of attacks in the 1990s, Hamas claimed responsibility for numerous incidents resulting in Israeli deaths, with terrorists often originating from the West Bank. The peak of Hamas's attacks occurred in 1996, with four deadly bombings in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Ashkelon within two weeks, claiming the lives of 59 Israelis. Hamas continued its attacks even after this period. With the outbreak of the Second Intifada, Hamas became a more prominent force in the armed struggle against Israel, initially led by Fatah. Its West Bank infrastructure became central to its deadly attacks, and the organization's influence grew among the Palestinian public.

During the three and a half years of the Second Intifada, Hamas carried out hundreds of attacks. Notable among these were the Dolphinarium discotheque bombing in 2001, which killed 21 people, and the Park Hotel bombing in Netanya during Passover in 2002, which resulted in 30 deaths. The latter attack was a primary catalyst for Operation Defensive Shield, a large-scale IDF operation against terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank. Even after Hamas gained control of the Gaza Strip, it continued to solidify its presence in the West Bank. In 2014, Hamas operatives, including Marwan Kawasme, a Hamas terrorist released in a prisoner exchange, were responsible for the abduction and murder of three Israeli teenagers in Gush Etzion. Security officials at the time identified Hamas as the main threat in the West Bank due to its efforts to rebuild its military infrastructure in the area.

Since October 7, 2023, Hamas's activity in the West Bank has intensified, with numerous terrorist cells and infrastructures being dismantled by the IDF through operations like "House and Garden," "Breaker of Waves," and "Summer Camps." On the eve of Yom Kippur, IDF forces arrested two Hamas-affiliated terrorists in Kafr Qabatiya, suspected of planning an imminent attack. This arrest is part of a broader recent effort to thwart attacks, with several other terrorists and cells apprehended for planning immediate attacks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office responded to Macron's remarks, stating, "The absurd ridiculousness of Emmanuel Macron's statement is astonishing. On Sunday, the eve of Yom Kippur, just two days ago, Natanel Shicron, a French citizen and father of six, was murdered in his car by a Hamas terrorist in Judea and Samaria. In his last breath, he told his son to flee. Hamas terrorists carry out attacks against Jews almost daily. They have murdered countless Israeli civilians in Judea and Samaria. Ignorance is no excuse for erasing their blood."