French President Macron claims Hamas was 'never active in West Bank' in UNGA speech

French President Emmanuel Macron shocked many during his UN General Assembly address Tuesday by declaring that “Hamas has never been active in the West Bank.” 

The remarks came as Macron addressed the UNGA in his final address as the French president. 

In a speech meant to praise the United Nations and its role in various world conflicts, Macron, as with other world leaders, took time to criticize Israel, accusing it of restricting humanitarian aid into Gaza, and of violating the sovereignty of its neighbors. 

While not as harsh or openly hostile to Israel as leaders like Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, or Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Macron accused Israel of violating the sovereignty of neighboring Lebanon and preventing the sovereignty of the Palestinians. 

“In the Near and Middle East, it is still respect for the sovereignty of each individual that alone can bring peace and security to all, and that is what we defend,” Macron said in addressing the Middle East. “Respect for sovereignty for the displaced Lebanese whose villages are destroyed one after the other in the south. Only a fully sovereign Lebanon can lead to the surrender of Hezbollah and the restoration of security for the Lebanese and all its neighbors.” 

“Sovereignty for the Palestinians, whose most basic rights are still being flouted today,” he continued, while criticizing the lack of progress since he helped lead a group of nations recognizing a Palestinian state at last year’s UNGA. “Paper recognition, look at reality.” 

Macron then turned to Gaza, implying that Israel is the problem preventing peace in the Hamas-run territory. 

“But what credibility do we have if we continue to stand idly by in the face of Gaza? Some people flatter themselves with a supposed peace, but this peace has not reopened humanitarian paths for a single second,” Macron accused. “Should we contemplate this spectacle that shames us all? Never.” 

The French president then made a statement which attracted international and Israeli incredulity. 

“Look at what is happening in the West Bank, where everyday violations are being made. In the name of what? Hamas has never been active in the West Bank,” Macron stated. 

While claiming to support Israel’s security, Macron then appeared to attack the Jewish state, saying, “But all those who claim that Israel's security depends on violating the sovereignty of all its neighbors are making a fatal mistake, weakening Israel's security for today and tomorrow, and threatening it.” 

Reaction from Israelis and Israel supporters was swift. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office slammed the “grotesque absurdity” of claiming Hamas was not active in Judea and Samaria, while noting that a French-Israeli was murdered by a Hamas-affiliated terrorist just two days prior to Macron’s comments. 

The Prime Minister's Office:

The grotesque absurdity of Emmanuel Macron's statement is staggering.
On Sunday, the eve 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. With his…

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) September 22, 2026

Yashar party leader and former IDF Chief of Staff, Gadi Eisenkot, called Macron’s statement “extremely divorced from the reality on the ground.” 

“As someone who commanded the Judea and Samaria Division and as someone who fought to defeat Hamas terrorism, I am very familiar with the terror organization’s operations in Judea and Samaria and the threat it poses to Israeli citizens,” Eisenkot wrote to 𝕏. 

.@EmmanuelMacron's claim at the UN that “Hamas has never struck in the West Bank” (« Le Hamas n’a jamais sévi en Cisjordanie ») is outrageous and demonstrably false.

During the Second Intifada, Hamas used its strongholds there to organize and launch devastating terrorist attacks… pic.twitter.com/ZaRQyrDEMs

— Emmanuel Navon | エマニュエル・ナヴォン 🇮🇱 (@emmanuelnavon) September 23, 2026

The Israeli Ambassador-designate to Japan, Emmanuel Navon, called Macron’s statement “outrageous and demonstrably false.” 

Several Israeli and Jewish accounts on social media shared videos of Hamas rallies in the Palestinian territories in Judea and Samaria or lists of terror attacks carried out by the terror organization from within the territory. 

Israeli accounts called attention to Macron’s repeated criticism of Israel after the outbreak of the Oct. 7 Gaza War and his steps to prevent Israeli defense firms from exhibiting at defense expos held in his country. 

French President Emmanuel Macron just said Hamas isn't active in the West Bank.

I knew this thread would come in handy.pic.twitter.com/blmXh5Skp8 https://t.co/ZbZx9k5qdj

— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) September 22, 2026

The backlash led a French official to claim that Macron’s statement was mistranslated and that he meant to say Hamas did not exercise authority in Judea and Samaria. This was picked up by several defenders of the president, yet even French-langue news site Le Point noted the error, calling it a “diplomatic faux pas” and theorizing that Macron “deviated from his text, carried away by his momentum.” 

It noted that the video of that segment posted to Macron’s 𝕏 account was edited after the backlash, to cut out the offending segment. 

A French social media account noted that Macron has made similar statements in English, implying that Hamas is disconnected from the “West Bank.”

🚨🇫🇷 ALERTE : Rétropédalage grossier de @francediplo, qui nous prend pour des demeurés en invoquant un « contresens » de traduction.

Le président @EmmanuelMacron a pourtant bel et bien déclaré, en français : « Le Hamas n’a jamais sévi en Cisjordanie. »

‼️ Et ce n’est pas la… https://t.co/5xQPkIt8Xg pic.twitter.com/s9k6GId1Ih

— SwordOfSalomon (@SwordOfSalomon) September 23, 2026

The speech by Macron, which he apparently intended to be a memorable occasion at his last appearance in the UNGA as France’s president, now appears likely to be memorable for an apparent slip-up about Israel, one which many Israelis are not convinced is so innocent.