Netanyahu denounces French foreign minister for apartheid comment

ANKARA

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday slammed a recent statement by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian who said the situation in Israel has "the ingredients of long-lasting apartheid.”

Le Drian’s comment is “an insolent, false claim that has no basis," said Netanyahu. "In the State of Israel, all citizens are equal before the law, regardless of their ethnicity."

Le Drian commented on Sunday on the recent Israeli escalation which turned to violent clashes between Arab-Israelis and Israelis in Israeli towns.

Such escalation “clearly shows that if in the future we had a solution other than the two-state solution, we would have the ingredients of long-lasting apartheid,” he said.

Since April 13, clashes erupted across the occupied territories because of Israeli attacks and restrictions on Palestinians in East Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa Mosque and an Israeli court’s decision to evict 12 Palestinian families from their homes in favor of Israeli settlers.

Tension moved to Gaza on May 10, leading to a military confrontation between Israeli forces and Palestinian resistance groups where Israeli warplanes caused an unprecedented scale of destruction in the occupied territory.

At least 284 Palestinians were killed, including 66 children and 39 women, and more than 1,900 others injured in the Israeli onslaught on Gaza and the West Bank, according to Palestinian health officials.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara

ANKARA

Le Drian’s comment is “an insolent, false claim that has no basis," said Netanyahu. "In the State of Israel, all citizens are equal before the law, regardless of their ethnicity."

Le Drian commented on Sunday on the recent Israeli escalation which turned to violent clashes between Arab-Israelis and Israelis in Israeli towns.

Such escalation “clearly shows that if in the future we had a solution other than the two-state solution, we would have the ingredients of long-lasting apartheid,” he said.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara