Israel’s administration revoked visas for twenty seven French left-wing parliamentarians and local officeholders two days before they were scheduled to begin a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, the group said.
The move was just days after Israel prevented two UK parliamentarians from the ruling Labour party from entering the nation. It also came after diplomatic tensions following a statement by President Emmanuel Macron that France would recognize a Palestinian state soon. Macron has, in return, attempted to put pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Gaza’s affairs in the Israel-Hamas war.
Israel’s interior ministry stated the visas of the 27 had been revoked under a law which enables authorities to exclude individuals who might act against the state of Israel. Seventeen members of France’s Ecologist and Communist parties claimed they were subjected to “collective punishment” by Israel and called on Macron to take action.
In their statement, they mentioned that the French consulate in Jerusalem had invited them for a five-day visit. Their itinerary included planned visits to Israel and the Palestinian territories as part of their mission to “strengthen international cooperation and the culture of peace”, they also said. “For the first time, two days ago, before our departure, the Israeli authorities revoked our entry visas issued one month ago,” they added.
“We want to understand what led to this rash decision, which resembles joint punishment,” stated the group.
An event that has caused a ‘major rupture’
The group was made up of National Assembly deputies Francois Ruffin, Alexis Corbière and Julie Ozenne of the Ecologist party, Communist deputy Soumya Bourouaha and Communist senator Marianne Margate. The rest were left-wing town mayors and local legislators.
The statement condemned the ban as a “rupture in diplomatic relations of major proportions”. “Consciously hindering elected representatives and parliamentarians from traveling cannot be without repercussions,” the group stated, calling for a meeting with Macron and action by the government to get Israel to let them in.
The delegation stated their parties had for years demanded recognition of a Palestinian state, which Macron stated last week might be achieved at an international conference in June. Israeli administrators this month apprehended UK members of parliament Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang at Tel Aviv airport and deported them, providing the same reasoning. UK’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy depicted the action as “unacceptable”.
In February, Tel Aviv stopped two left-wing EU parliament members, Ireland’s Lynn Boylan and Franco-Palestinian Rima Hassan from entering. Israeli PM has responded in outrage to Paris’s potential recognition of a Palestinian state. He referred to the creation of a Palestinian state beside Israel a “huge reward for terrorism.”.
