Paris is raising its voice in the face of violence by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Tuesday February 13 that it had adopted “sanctions” against 28 “extremist Israeli settlers” guilty of “violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank”.
“France reaffirms its firm condemnation of this unacceptable violence. As we have stated on numerous occasions, it is the responsibility of the Israeli authorities to put an end to it and prosecute its perpetrators,” the ministry wrote in the press release.
These 28 individuals are “targeted by an administrative ban from French territory”, said the Quai d’Orsay in a press release, which said it was “working” on “the adoption of sanctions at the European level” against the settlers. violent. “Settlement is illegal under international law and must stop. Its continuation is incompatible with the creation of a viable Palestinian state, which is the only solution so that Israelis and Palestinians can live, side by side, in peace and security.” , still believes the Quai d’Orsay.
According to the Palestinian Authority, more than 380 Palestinians have been killed since then by Israeli soldiers or settlers in the West Bank. More than 2.9 million Palestinians live in the occupied West Bank, separated from the Gaza Strip by Israeli territory. Around 490,000 Israelis also live there, in settlements deemed illegal under international law.
Washington and London have taken sanctions against “extremist settlers”, but the European Union, which must decide on them unanimously, has not yet managed to agree on the subject, due to opposition from countries like Hungary and the Czech Republic, according to diplomatic sources.