The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has proposed widening the international coalition against Islamic State to fight the Palestinian militant group Hamas as he made a visit to Israel.
Macron emphasised that France and Israel shared terrorism as their “common enemy” as he spoke alongside the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
“France is ready for the international coalition against Daesh in which we are taking part in operations in Iraq and Syria to also fight against Hamas,” he told reporters, referring to IS.
Israel is not a member of the anti-IS coalition and Macron’s proposal to widen the coalition’s objectives to include Hamas could allow western powers greater influence over how the Gaza-based group is tackled.
Some western powers have concerns about leaving Israel in sole charge of fighting Hamas, since an unconstrained campaign has the potential to turn into a regional conflagration with reverberations in European capitals.
The French president, who met families of French victims at Tel Aviv airport, insisted freeing the hostages without distinction was the first priority, remarks that implicitly suggested that he, in common with other western leaders, would like Israel to hold off from a large-scale ground operation.
Macron, who cautioned about the risks of a regional conflict, also said the fight against Hamas “must be without mercy but not without rules”.
Netanyahu said the fight was a battle between the “axis of evil” and “the free world” without commenting directly on Macron’s proposal. “This battle is not merely our own … it’s everybody’s battle,” he said. Arab foreign ministries expressed surprise at the Macron proposal, especially since many said they had not been consulted.
Macron said Hamas had killed its 1,400 victims in its 7 October rampage because they were Jewish and “wanted to live in peace”. The dead included 30 French citizens, and it is thought nine French citizens are being held hostage by Hamas.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says Israeli airstrikes on the territory in response to the attacks have killed more than 5,700 people.
Macron’s proposal would probably have to include discussions about what would happen in Gaza after Hamas was defeated, including whether the Palestinian Authority, based in the West Bank, could become responsible for administering the Gaza Strip.
He also called for a “decisive relaunch” of the Middle East peace process. “The Palestinian cause must be heard with reason,” he said, adding that the stability of the region would only be guaranteed if the Israeli response was “obviously security orientated and implacable in the face of terrorist groups, but also political”.
He said it was necessary “to accept the legitimate right of the Palestinians to have access to a territory and a state in peace and security” alongside Israel.
Netanyahu’s opponents in Israel have accused him of reaching an unspoken modus vivendi with Hamas whereby it was provided with aid and work visas into Israel, in return for a form of military restraint. The tacit understanding gave space for the Israel Defence Forces to focus on Palestinian resistance in the West Bank.
No elections have been held in the West Bank or Gaza since 2006.
The US-led coalition fighting Islamic State was formed in September 2014. A similar Nato coalition was created to fight the Taliban after 9/11. The coalition against IS in Iraq and Syria has, however, changed from a largely military operation to one that helps local partners by providing reconnaissance and intelligence.
The US partnered mainly with the Syrian Kurds to defeat IS in Syria, a decision that was controversial with Turkey, its fellow Nato member.
Macron’s office said France was available to discuss with Israel and partners what could be relevant to tackle Hamas. “The international coalition against Daesh does not limit itself to operations on the ground, but is also involved in the training of Iraqi forces, the sharing of information between partners, and the fight against terrorism funding,” it said.
Western leaders have been conferring without Netanyahu, including a phone call instigated by the US president, Joe Biden, on Sunday with European members of the G7, France, UK Germany and Italy.
Macron’s visit came after similar visits by the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, Biden, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the British prime minister, Rishi Sunak. Most of these visits have hinted at the west’s desire for the hostage issue to be given precedence over a ground offensive into Gaza.
The French foreign minister, Catherine Colonna, attended the inconclusive Egypt peace summit at the weekend. Macron will meet other regional leaders in Jordan’s capital, Amman, on Tuesday. The office of Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, said Macron would meet him in Ramallah, on the West Bank.
French officials have rejected the idea that Macron’s ban on Palestinian protests, rescinded by the courts, revealed an bias against Palestine. France, unlike the US, did not veto a UN security council draft resolution, led by Brazil, that condemned Hamas while calling for a humanitarian pause. Britain abstained.
