Israel has revoked the visas of 27 French lawmakers just days before their visit, amid growing diplomatic tensions over Paris’s potential recognition of a Palestinian state.
The Israeli government revoked the entry visas of 27 left-wing French lawmakers and officials just two days before their planned visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, the group announced on Sunday.
This move followed closely behind Israel’s decision to deny entry to two British MPs from the ruling Labour Party.
The revocation also came amid rising diplomatic tensions after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would soon recognize a Palestinian state. Macron has been pressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address the ongoing situation in Gaza.
The Israeli Ministry of Interior justified the visa cancellations under a law permitting the ban of individuals who are perceived as a threat to Israel’s interests.
17 members of the group, which includes figures from the French environmental and communist parties, condemned the action as “collective punishment” and called on Macron to intervene.
The group explained in a statement that they had received an invitation from the French Consulate in Jerusalem to undertake a five-day mission to foster international cooperation and promote a culture of peace.
Despite having their visas approved a month earlier, they were informed just two days before departure that the Israeli authorities had revoked them.
“We want to understand the reasons behind this sudden decision, which seems to be a form of collective punishment,” the group said.
The delegation includes prominent figures such as National Assembly members François Ruffin, Alexis Corbière, and Julie Ozen, as well as communist deputy Soumia Borouha and senator Marianne Margat. Also part of the delegation are left-wing mayors and local deputies.
The group called the visa revocation a “major rupture in diplomatic relations” and stressed that their parties have long advocated for the recognition of a Palestinian state, something Macron has suggested could happen during an international conference in June.
Earlier this month, Israel detained and deported British MPs Yuan Yang and Ibtisam Mohammed, citing similar reasons. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy condemned the actions as “unacceptable.”
In February, Israel also barred two left-wing European Parliament members, French-Palestinian Rima Hassan and Irish Lynn Boylan, from entering the country.
Netanyahu fiercely rejected the idea of France recognizing a Palestinian state, claiming it would reward “terrorism”.
(PC, AJA)
Awww…the poor widdle ZioNazis got all offended because someone stood up for Palestine…too bad! deal with it. There is only room for one state, Palestine. The Israelis have shown time and time again that they can’t be trusted. They’re irredeemable savages who only want to murder Arabs, killing their children. Who would want to share a state with them? Clearly they’ll never change, never let up, stop the aggression. They don’t deserve one cent, let alone the $Billions my US government gives them every year. The small handful of regular decent good Jews in occupied Palestine need to rebel against the Zionists and redeem their name, because they’ve been exploited and shamed for decades.
Macron and the French government will do nothing about it. They are supported by the far-right RN party which is pretending to no longer be a bunch of judeophobes (like Marine Le Pen’s fascist/racist/criminal father who referred to gas chambers as ‘a detail in history’ and was also known for having tortured resistants in Algeria) but is definitely islamophobic and anti-Arab and therefore supports the zionists.
Macron and the French government will do nothing about it. They are supported by the far-right RN party which is pretending to no longer be a bunch of judeophobes (like Marine Le Pen’s fascist/racist/criminal father who referred to gas chambers as ‘a detail in history’ and was known for having tortured resistants in Algeria) but is islamophobic and anti-Arab and therefore supports the zionists.