Israeli plots to annex West Bank would be a 'red line', Macron says
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Macron warns “Israel” that West Bank annexation is a red line, pledges a strong EU response, and launches a joint committee with Abbas on the Palestinian constitution.
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French President Emmanuel Macron, right, shakes hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after a joint statement at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Tuesday Nov. 11 2025. (AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron issued a stern warning on Tuesday, declaring that any move by “Israel” to annex parts of the occupied West Bank would cross a “red line” and provoke a strong European reaction.
“Plans for partial or total annexation, whether legal or de facto, constitute a red line to which we will respond strongly with our European partners,” Macron said during a joint press conference in Paris following his meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The French president also condemned the surge in settler violence and the accelerated pace of Israeli illegal settlement construction in the West Bank, warning that such actions endanger regional stability and violate international law.
“The violence of the settlers and the acceleration of settlement projects are reaching new heights, threatening the stability of the West Bank and constitute violations of international law,” Macron stated.
During the meeting, Macron and Abbas announced the formation of a joint committee to support work on a Palestinian constitution.
Macron’s warning to the Israeli regime over West Bank annexation rings hollow against France’s continued historical and current political and military support for the Israeli occupation. Paris condemns settlements in words yet shields Israelis diplomatically and economically in practice, sustaining the very system it claims to oppose.
West Bank under constant attack
Israeli settlers carried out at least 264 attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank during October, marking the highest monthly total since the United Nations began tracking such violations in 2006, the UN reported on Friday.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that the surge in settler violence has resulted in casualties and significant property damage, averaging approximately eight attacks per day.
“Since 2006, OCHA has documented over 9,600 such attacks. About 1,500 of them took place just this year, roughly 15 per cent of the total,” the UN said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Ricardo Pires, UNICEF’s Emergency Communications Chief, said on Friday that since the start of the Israeli genocide in Gaza in October 2023, as of November 8, 2025, settlers and Israeli occupation forces have killed 47 Palestinian children across the West Bank and the eastern part of occupied al-Quds.
On Monday, the Israeli occupation forces announced the launch of extensive military maneuvers across the West Bank and the Palestinian Jordan Valley, near the border with Jordan. The drills are expected to continue for three days.
Read more: Over 2,300 Israeli settler, IOF attacks targeted W. Bank in October
