Israel cancels visas for French lawmakers
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French President Emmanuel Macron has said that France would soon recognise a Palestinian state.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
PARIS - 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 April 20, the group said.
The action came only days after Israel stopped two British MPs 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
Israel’s Interior Ministry said visas for the 27 had been cancelled under a law that allows the 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 Mr 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”.
Ecologist MP Francois Ruffin speaks during a debate in the National Assembly in Paris.
PHOTO: AFP
“Deliberately preventing elected officials and parliamentarians from travelling cannot be without consequences,” the group said, demanding a meeting with Mr 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 Mr Macron said last week could come at an international conference in June.
Israeli authorities in April detained British MPs Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed
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”. AFP
