27 French officials, members of France’s Ecologist and Communist parties, have had their Israeli visas cancelled by the Interior Ministry of Israel, ahead of a planned visit to the country, as well as the Palestinian territories.
The Ministry has revoked the visas of these French lawmakers and local officials, based on a law that enables the Israeli authorities to scrap the right of entry to foreigners deemed likely to act against the state, Schengen.News reports.
The visit was organised by the French consulate in Jerusalem, in a bid to promote peace and international cooperation, and was scheduled to last for five days. Their visas had been approved a month prior.
The group included several mayors, as well as the National Assembly deputies François Ruffin, Alexis Corbière and Julie Ozenne.
The move follows a statement of President Macron that France could soon recognise a Palestinian state. The parties from which these officials come are also supporters of an independent Palestine.
France’s new stance has been harshly criticised by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who claims that establishing a Palestinian state after what happened on October 7, 2023, would be a “huge reward for terrorism.”
“Major Rupture in Diplomatic Ties”
In a joint letter signed by 17 of the officials whose visas were cancelled, the French President Emmanuel Macron has been urged to intervene. The Élysée Palace, however, has not reacted to the case.
In this letter, the group has condemned the actions of Israel as a “collective punishment” and a “major rupture in diplomatic ties.”
Deliberately preventing elected officials and parliamentarians from travelling cannot be without consequences.
The officials have also reacted individually through their social media platforms. Alexis Corbière, member of the National Assembly for the 7th constituency of the Seine-Saint-Denis department since 2017, has called the move a scandal.
The Israeli authorities’ cancellation of the delegation of elected officials is a scandal. Our goal was to meet with Israelis like Uri Weltmann of the Standing Together association and bring a message of peace, ceasefire and the release of hostages.
https://x.com/Francois_Ruffin/status/1914296495831924803
Previously, in February, two European MPs were rejected entry by Israeli authorities, one of whom was Franco-Palestinian, over the same concerns. In another case, two British members of parliament, Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed, were detained at the Ben Gurion Airport airport, also over security concerns.