France condemns Israel’s “unacceptable” travel ban
Relations between France and Israel are rapidly turning pear shaped following a move by the Elysee to thrwo its weight behind a two state solution in Palestine.
France’s Foreign Ministry accused Israel’s embassy on the 29th of April of an “unacceptable” travel ban after the banning of two French groups from entering Israel.
According to Reuters, the banned French groups include elected officials. Israel alleges these groups have links to terrorist organisations.
A statement on the 28th of April was released by Israel’s embassy, saying 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.
France has asked Israel to reverse its decision, calling the linking of officials to terrorists “unacceptable.” This dispute marks another setback for France-Israel relations, which have already been strained in recent months.
A key damage to the relationship occurred when Macron in April offered his thoughts on recognising Palestine at an international conference set to take place in June.
Macron believes he can “finalise this movement of mutual recognition (of a Palestinian state) by several parties”.
The comments and potential recognition of a Palestinian state by Macron have potentially seen countries such as the UK move closer to recognition, with the UK hosting the Palestinian prime minister on the 28th of April.
Critics view these diplomatic tensions as part of a broader shift in the international community, with more countries like France and the UK potentially moving toward Palestinian state recognition despite Israel’s opposition.
Now, with the actions taken by Israel to halt French officials entering the country, it appears that this may be Israel’s response to the current shift in attitude by such allies as the UK and France.
Israel has made its attitude clear on why it has not allowed officials and groups into the country.
“We encourage any member of the delegation wishing to travel to Israel to contact the Israeli Embassy to arrange a visit that will not be managed by an organisation supporting terrorism,” it said.
The clear message from Israel is that the groups are indeed terrorist-linked and therefore cannot enter, yet many critics will see the opposition to French officials being allowed into the country as an act taken by Israel to show that they are not happy about the potential move towards recognition of the Palestinian state by such states as France.
Reuters, Maghrebi.org
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