Netanyahu and Macron discuss Iran and Israeli-Palestinian tension over dinner

France President denounces 'headlong rush' of Tehran's nuclear programme

French President Emmanuel Macron and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Paris on Thursday. AP

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met French President Emmanuel Macron, business leaders and members of France’s Jewish community during a trip to Paris that has angered Palestinian supporters amid a new spasm of violence in the Middle East.

The visit began with a dinner meeting at the Elysee Palace on Thursday, where the talking points included Mr Macron's assurance of France’s “solidarity with Israel in the face of terrorism”, as well as “the need for everyone to avoid measures likely to feed the spiral of violence”, his office said.

Before departing for France, Mr Netanyahu said Iran would be “the main topic of our talk”.

Mr Macron denounced the “headlong rush” of Iran's nuclear programme after the meeting.

He criticised Tehran's lack of transparency over its nuclear activities and said its support for Russia’s war in Ukraine exposed it to further sanctions and growing isolation.

Iran's continued development of its atomic project will “inevitably have consequences”, he said.

Mr Macron also offered to help revive long-stalled dialogue between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Pro-Palestinian activists plan to hold a protest in Paris on Saturday to denounce Mr Macron’s decision to host Mr Netanyahu at such a volatile time in the conflict.

The demonstrators said they would also demonstrate against prison conditions for Palestinians held in Israel, including solitary confinement and limits on family visits.

Mr Netanyahu’s trip comes during one of the deadliest periods in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in years, with the fighting spilling over into the Gaza Strip.

The two leaders spoke on Sunday after the fatal Palestinian shooting near a Jerusalem synagogue.

Mr Netanyahu is the head of Israel’s most right-wing government, which is buoyed by ultranationalist parties that have promised to take a hard line against Palestinians and to ramp up settlement construction in the occupied West Bank.

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During the meeting with Mr Macron, Mr Netanyahu said he would meet French business leaders interested in investing in Israel and representatives of the Jewish community before leaving on Saturday night.

Earlier this week, the French government unveiled a plan aimed at better combating racism and anti-Semitism, including measures to deal with the proliferation of hate speech online and campaigns to raise awareness about the Holocaust.

Agencies contributed to this report.