BEIRUT -- Israel has long been accustomed to being attacked at meetings of international organizations, but the summit of francophone nations was not prominent among them. That changed yesterday.

Israel was a favourite target as more than 50 leaders, including Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, began their summit in Beirut. The host of the conference, Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, began the day with a scorching attack on Israel, accusing it of "odious massacres" of Palestinians.

Meanwhile, a tense scene was developing in the media centre between Lebanese journalists and a French reporter, whom they accused of broadcasting to Israel, in violation of Lebanese law.

Traditionally, the Francophonie has not been a political organization. However, this year's meeting in Beirut has put Middle East politics near the centre of the agenda.

President Lahoud told the summit that at a time when civilized nations are trying to eradicate terrorism, "the Israeli occupation [of Palestinian land] perpetuates the most perverse form of terrorism: state terrorism."

He said that Israel subjects the Palestinian population to "odious massacres," which it tries to defend under cover of the so-called "war on terrorism" launched by the United States.

Several other francophone speakers spoke against Israel, though in less animated terms. No leader defended the Jewish state from the podium.

Mr. Chretien's own speech largely steered clear of political issues except to praise the organization for expanding its political role. He focused on the cultural goals of the Francophonie, and its mission to bolster the French language.

Canadian officials said they expected the leaders to discuss the Middle East in closed session today.

The incident at the media centre began late yesterday morning, when about 30 Lebanese journalists surrounded a French reporter, Gideon Kuts, who works for a Jewish monthly in France.

Some demanded to know whether he was an Israeli spy.

They were provoked by a report in an Arabic-language newspaper, As-Safir, that he had made broadcasts to Israel from the summit. The story was illustrated with a picture of Mr. Kuts apparently filming the Lebanese presidential palace with a video camera.

Mr. Kuts was at first ringed by the Lebanese reporters at the media centre where reporters covering the summit work. He told the crowd that he was only doing his job, but as they grew more agitated, he took refuge in a closed-off area reserved for the press office of French President Jacques Chirac.

The Lebanese journalists surrounded the office until conference security guards pushed them away. After about 20 minutes, representatives from the French delegation whisked Mr. Kuts out a side door. He was driven away from the conference in a van belonging to a French television network that reportedly took him to his hotel, where he was unavailable for comment.

The journalist, who, according to some reports, holds Israeli as well as French citizenship, was later stripped of his accreditation to the summit.

Lebanese officials confirmed that Mr. Kuts's accreditation had been revoked. He reportedly came to Lebanon with a visa issued in Paris on a French passport.

Lebanon remains technically at war with Israel, after a 20-year occupation of its southern region that ended just two years ago. The Lebanese do not permit any legal contact, not even telephone calls, with their southern neighbour.

"Look, we're at war, and he doesn't have a right to be here," one of the Lebanese journalists said. She declined to give her name. "I wouldn't have a problem if he were just broadcasting to France."

Mr. Chrétien, who is attending the summit, said: "If this has happened to a French journalist, it's for the French government to react. Me, I don't like it when the journalists are maltreated."

But he added, jokingly, "They treat me really well."

Other reporters travelling with Mr. Chirac said that Mr. Kuts works for the Jewish monthly L'Arche and freelances for Israeli media. They added that he has followed French presidents on international trips for at least a decade and visited Lebanon with Mr. Chirac four years ago.