France demands 'truth and justice' after shooting of Palestinians in Gaza
World
Macron was angered by the shooting of over 100 Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid in Gaza.
PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday (Mar 1) he was angered by the shooting of more than 100 Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid in Gaza and demanded "truth and justice" regarding the role of Israeli soldiers in the incident.
Gaza health authorities said Israeli forces on Thursday shot dead more than 100 Palestinians as they waited for an aid delivery. Israel blamed the deaths on crowds that surrounded aid trucks, saying victims had been trampled or run over.
"Deep indignation at the images coming from Gaza where civilians have been targeted by Israeli soldiers. I express my strongest condemnation of these shootings and call for truth, justice, and respect for international law," Macron said in a post on X.
He said it was imperative for an immediate ceasefire in the war to be put in place.
Speaking on France Inter radio on Friday, Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said Paris would back the United Nations' (UN) call for an independent investigation.
"The humanitarian situation has been catastrophic for several weeks now and what happened is indefensible and unjustifiable. Israel needs to be able to hear it and it needs to stop," Sejourne told France Inter.
"We have gone a step further, people are fighting for food and there are riots. I heard the request from the Secretary General of the UN to open an independent investigation and I think that France will support this," Sejourne said.
France would not apply "double standards" to the Mideast conflict, Sejourne said, adding: "France calls things by their name".
"This applies when we designate Hamas as a terrorist group, but we must also call things by their name when there are atrocities in Gaza."
If an investigation should conclude that the Israeli shooting was a war crime, "then obviously this becomes a matter for the judiciary", he said.
