An argument between the pair was sparked when Gideon Sa’ar criticised President Macron for his intervention over the US refusing to accept visas issued by the Palestinian Authority
September 4, 2025 13:56
An ill-tempered online row has flared up between the foreign ministers of Israel and France in the wake of an announcement from the US that it would stop accepting any passports or visas issued by the Palestinian Authority (PA).
France’s President Macron this week criticised that decision as “unacceptable” drawing condemnation from Jerusalem’s Gideon Sa’ar.
In a scathing X post, Sa’ar wrote: “President Macron is very interested in visas to the United States for Palestinian Authority officials. That is what keeps him awake at night.
"He does not protest against the rampant incitement in the Palestinian education system against Israel and Jews.
“He also does not object to the payments transferred by the Palestinian Authority to terrorists and their families under the “pay for slay” method. The more severe the act of terror – the higher the reward paid by the Palestinian Authority."
Sa’ar then accused Macron of “trying to intervene from the outside in a conflict to which he is not a party” and “undermining the stability of the region with his actions”.
His statement drew a swift reaction from Jean-Noël Barrot, the French foreign minister, who replied: “Regardless of our disagreements on the Palestinian issue, this is grossly unfair, dear Gideon. President Macron has secured unprecedented commitments from the Palestinian Authority with his initiative.”
"The “pay for slay” has ended on August 1, and an independent audit will verify this soon. The review of the textbooks to prevent incitement is underway. We will hold the Palestinian Authority accountable of these commitments,” he added, tagging UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Canadian Foreign Minister Aninta Anand and, apparently unintentionally, an inactive parody account posing as their Australian counterpart Penny Wong, which described the minister, who is gay, as a “raging lesbian”.
The PA has previously committed to ending the pay for slay system, but Israeli officials have claimed that the organisation simply continued the practice of subsidising terrorists under another name.
To that end, Sa’ar hit back: “Dear Jean Noël, I was astonished to read your claim that the Palestinian Authority allegedly ‘ended’ the pay for slay payments.
"The facts on this matter are clear and unequivocal (and I am sure they are also known to French intelligence): The PA simply replaced the old system with a new one that continues transferring money to the same bank accounts of terrorists and terrorists’ families.
"Either the Palestinian Authority is fooling you or you are fooling the world.
"As for the incitement of the Palestinian Authority against Israel and Jews...It is rampant in kindergartens, schools, textbooks, and in Palestinian mosques and media.”
Barrot is yet to respond to the latest post as of September 4.
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