French officials held covert meetings with Hamas leadership with the approval of President Emmanuel Macron, according to a report by journalist Omri Maniv. The meetings allegedly took place years before the October 7th massacre.
The claim is based on documents reportedly discovered by Israeli forces during operations in Gaza. The first meeting is said to have occurred on October 16, 2020, in Doha, Qatar. According to the report, senior Hamas figures Mousa Abu Marzook and Khaled Mashal attended, along with a French delegation led by a high-ranking intelligence official identified as the third most senior in the agency.
During the meeting, the French official reportedly told Hamas representatives: “We do not want to speak only with the Palestinian Authority, but also with you. France has a historic connection to the Palestinian struggle.”
Mashal and Abu Marzook are said to have responded: “Even if the international community supports the Zionist entity, we will defeat them. This land is ours. The resistance has been ongoing for more than a hundred years, and we will continue until victory.” According to the report, the French delegation did not object to these statements.
In response to the publication, a senior diplomat from the French Embassy issued a statement rejecting the allegations, calling them “baseless accusations likely intended to undermine our efforts to promote a two-state solution.” The diplomat added, “Hamas is a terrorist organization that carried out the worst anti-Semitic massacre of the 21st century. France remains committed to its disarmament and to ensuring it plays no role in any post-conflict arrangements.”