Macron must take uncompromising stand against Iran, Israel’s president says

President Reuven Rivlin received a warm welcome from French President Emmanuel Macron on arriving at the Elysee Palace Thursday on the final leg of his tri-state mission to persuade key countries in Europe to take an uncompromising stand against Iran’s nuclear aspirations, and also to convince Europe that the International Criminal Court will be overstepping its role if it proceeds to investigate Israel for alleged war crimes.

Rivlin wearing a white mask and Macron a black mask embraced each other in the presence of the military honor guard, and mounted the steps with Macron’s arm around Rivlin’s shoulder.

Rivlin, a lawyer by profession, outlined his argument against the ICC in an op-ed published in Le Figaro Thursday, ahead of his arrival in France.

In the article, Rivlin warned that “one of the most egregious consequences of the ICC’s decision is that it will make it even harder for Israelis and Palestinians to find common ground.” Until the Court concludes its investigation, which could take several years, he continued, “It is hard to see the two sides engaging in serious negotiations. At a time when the recent agreements between Israel and Arab countries make the prospect for such progress better than any time in the recent past, this is an act of perverse logic.”

Rivlin called on friends of Israel and the Palestinians in France and beyond “to state clearly, once and for all, that the road to peace runs directly between Jerusalem and Ramallah. Detours via the ICC in the Hague and the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva are counter-productive to the cause of peace and undermine the chances of an agreement between us”, he wrote.

The two presidents last met when Macron visited Israel in January last year, and talked with Israeli leaders and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Rivlin thanked Macron for France’s ongoing fight against antisemitism, its commitment to uphold the memory of the Holocaust and its efforts to protect its Jewish community.

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