Emmanuel Macron told the Council of Ministers on Tuesday, October 19, that "Netanyahu must not forget that his country was created by a UN decision," referring to the UN General Assembly's vote in November 1947 on the plan to partition Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state. "And therefore this is not the time to break away from UN decisions," he continued, as Israel carries out a ground offensive against the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement in southern Lebanon, where some 10,000 peacekeepers are deployed.

Adopted unanimously in 2006, UN Security Council Resolution 1701 calls for a cessation of hostilities between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, and for the extension of the UN peacekeeping mandate (UNIFIL) to monitor the ceasefire along the Blue Line.

Macron's comments from the closed-door meeting at the Elysée Palace were quoted by a participant who spoke to Agence France-Presse and asked not to be named.

Tensions have increased between Netanyahu and Macron with the French leader last week insisting that stopping the export of weapons used by Israel in Gaza and Lebanon was the only way to end the conflicts. France has also repeatedly denounced Israeli fire against UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, who include a French contingent.

Netanyahu claimed that Hezbollah "uses UNIFIL [United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon] facilities and positions as cover while it attacks Israeli cities and communities," and on Sunday called on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to move the peacekeepers to safety "immediately."

UN Security Council Resolution 1701 states that only the Lebanese army and the UN peacekeeping mission UNIFIL should be deployed in southern Lebanon. UNIFIL denounced "shocking violations" by Israel. The Israeli army said one of its tanks had crashed into a UNIFIL post while evacuating wounded soldiers.