French Socialist President Francois Hollande conveyed a message to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asking him not to come to Paris to take part in the Unity March against terror on Sunday.
An Israeli source privy to the contacts between the Elysees Palace and the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem told reporters Netanyahu was told to stay home. The fact that this message had been conveyed was first reported by Channel 2. The Socialist president thought Netanyahu’s presence would be too divisive.
Four Jews were among the dead at a Kosher deli in Paris on Friday.
When Netanyahu announced he was coming Hollande extended an invitation to Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas despite the fact that Abbas regularly glorifies Islamic terrorists.
Hollande also banned French politician Marine Le Pen from the “Unity Rally” in Paris. Le Pen’s Nationalist Party won elections in 2014. She attended a massive rally in the southern town of Beaucaire.
Hollande later joined Netanyahu at the memorial service to terrorism victims at the Paris Grand Synagogue.