Netanyahu visits France amid spike in Mideast tensions

PARIS (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has met with France’s president amid one of the deadliest periods of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in years. French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting Netanyahu at a dinner on Thursday night. Macron’s office said the French leader plans to share France’s solidarity with Israel but also urge against action that would feed the spiral of violence. Netanyahu’s office says he will focus on concerns about Iran’s nuclear activities. Pro-Palestinian activists plan a protest in Paris on Saturday against the trip and to decry worsening conditions for Palestinian prisoners in Israel  Netanyahu is also meeting business leaders and members of France’s Jewish community before leaving France on Saturday night.