TNA Staff
The New Arab / April 21, 2025
Israel cancelled the visas of 27 French MPs & local officials just two days before they were due to begin a visit to Israel and Palestinian territories.
Israel’s government cancelled visas for 27 French left-wing lawmakers and local officials two days before they were to start a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories on Sunday, the group said.
The action came only days after Israel stopped two British members of parliament from the governing Labour party from entering the country.
It also came amidst diplomatic tensions after President Emmanuel Macron said France would soon recognise a Palestinian state.
Macron has in turn sought to pressure Netanyahu over conditions in Gaza amid the Gaza war.
Israel’s interior ministry said visas for the 27 had been cancelled under a law that allows authorities to ban people who could act against the state of Israel.
Seventeen members of the group, from France’s Ecologist and Communist parties, said they had been victims of “collective punishment” by Israel and called on Macron to intervene.
They said in a statement that they had been invited on a five-day trip by the French consulate in Jerusalem.
They had intended to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories as part of their mission to “strengthen international cooperation and the culture of peace”, they added.
“For the first time, two days before our departure, the Israeli authorities cancelled our entry visas that had been approved one month ago,” they said.
“We want to understand what led to this sudden decision, which resembles collective punishment,” said the group.
‘Major rupture’
The delegation included National Assembly deputies Francois Ruffin, Alexis Corbiere and Julie Ozenne from the Ecologist party, Communist deputy Soumya Bourouaha and Communist senator Marianne Margate.
The other members were left-wing town mayors and local lawmakers.
The statement denounced the ban as a “major rupture in diplomatic ties”.
“Deliberately preventing elected officials and parliamentarians from travelling cannot be without consequences,” the group said, demanding a meeting with Macron and action by the government to ensure Israel let them into the country.
The group said their parties had for decades called for recognition of a Palestinian state, which Macron said last week could come at an international conference in June.
Israeli authorities this month detained British members of parliament Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed at Tel Aviv airport and deported them, citing the same reason. Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy called the action “unacceptable”.
In February, Israel stopped two left-wing European parliament deputies, Franco-Palestinian Rima Hassan and Lynn Boylan from Ireland, from entering.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reacted with fury to France’s possible recognition of a Palestinian state.
He said establishing a Palestinian state next to Israel would be a “huge reward for terrorism”.
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France calls decision to ban delegations ‘unacceptable’
TNA / April 29, 2025
France’s foreign ministry accused Israel’s embassy of “unacceptable” behaviour on Tuesday after it banned two French groups, including elected officials, from visiting Israel and alleged the groups were linked to a terrorist organisation.
In a statement on Monday, Israel’s embassy said it would not allow any individual or delegation associated with the Decentralised Cooperation Network for Palestine or the France-Palestine Solidarity Association (AFPS) to enter the country because they were linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The PFLP is designated a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union.
France’s foreign ministry said the decision by Israel to revoke the travel authorisations for the two delegations, which included elected French officials, was regrettable, counterproductive, and damaging to Franco-Israeli relations.
“The public accusations by the Israeli Embassy in France alleging links between these associations and terrorist organisations are unacceptable,” the foreign ministry said.
It called on Israel to reverse its decision.
