The statement comes as French President Emmanuel Macron upped pressure on Israel to abide by UN decisions, telling his cabinet: "Mr Netanyahu must not forget that his country was created by a decision of the UN".

The statement refers to the resolution adopted in November 1947 by the United Nations General Assembly on a plan to partition Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states.

Netanyahu on Tuesday later hit back at Macron's comments, saying the country's founding was achieved by the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, not a UN ruling.

"A reminder to the president of France: It was not the UN resolution that established the State of Israel, but rather the victory achieved in the war of independence with the blood of heroic fighters, many of whom were Holocaust survivors - including from the Vichy regime in France," Netanyahu said to a statement.

Tensions have increased between Netanyahu and Macron with the French leader last week insisting that stopping the export of weapons used by Israel in Gaza and Lebanon was the only way to stop the conflicts.

France has also repeatedly denounced Israeli fire against UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, which includes a French contingent.

"Therefore this is not the time to disregard the decisions of the UN," Macron added, as Israel wages a ground offensive against the Iran-backed Shiite militant group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, where the UN peacekeepers are deployed.

His comments from the closed-door meeting at the Elysee Palace were quoted by a participant who spoke to AFP and asked not to be named.