Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently battling to stay on as prime minister in Israel ahead of next month’s elections, responded furiously to Macron's comments. Photo: Reuters

Macron gave his last UN General Assembly speech on Tuesday before stepping down as president, lashing out at increased settler violence.

“Look at what is happening in the West Bank, where every day violations are committed. In whose name? Hamas has never operated in the West Bank,” Macron said.

"What is happening there is building, day by day, the impossibility of a project that should be based on respect for the legitimate right of the Palestinian people to exist."

Israeli leaders were quick to condemn the comments, which French diplomats were forced to later correct.

“The grotesque absurdity of Emmanuel Macron’s statement is staggering,” Netanyahu said in a statement which referred to the killing of father-of-six Netanel Shukrun in the West Bank on Sunday. Israel says Shukrun, a French citizen, was killed by Hamas.

“Hamas terrorists carry out attacks against Jews almost every day. They have murdered countless Israeli civilians in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank]. Ignorance is no excuse for erasing their blood.”

Gadi Eisenkot, leader of Israel’s Yashar party and the principal challenger to Netanyahu in the Knesset elections next month, said Macron’s comment was “extremely divorced from the reality on the ground”.

Speaking to the The Times of Israel, a French diplomatic official said Macron had “meant to say that Hamas does not govern the West Bank.”

Macron’s speech was scathing about Israel’s actions in the occupied territories and the response of the international community.

“A year ago, here in this very hall, about a dozen states had recognized Palestine,” he continued. “I hear the cynicism of some people: ‘Recognition is just a piece of paper, look at the reality.

“But what credibility do we have if we continue to remain inactive in the face of Gaza? Some boast of a supposed peace. But that peace has not reopened humanitarian access for a single second. Are we simply to stand by and watch this spectacle that should shame us all?” he added.

It comes as France's ties with Israel become increasingly strained over the last year. Macron said those who believed that violating the sovereignty of all of Israel's neighbours would ensure its security were mistaken, stating that they are “weakening Israel’s security, both today and in the future”.

Netanyahu is set to address the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday.

Addressing Macron’s criticism of global inaction, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said: “President Trump ended the war between Israel and Hamas, freed all living hostages, returned the bodies of the deceased to their loved ones, and is now leading the implementation of the 20-Point Plan for Peace in Gaza.

“While others talk, this President took this complex problem head on. No one has done more for peace and stability in the region.”