Armed Israeli police officers entered a religious site belonging to France in East Jerusalem on Thursday, November 7, and briefly arrested French gendarmes responsible for securing it, reports Yediot Aharonotwhich says Paris “furious” of this “unusual diplomatic incident”, during a state visit by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.
Denouncing a “unacceptable situation”Jean-Noël Barrot, gave up entering the grounds of the national domain of Eléona, on the Mount of Olives, and the Quai d'Orsay announced that the Israeli ambassador in Paris would be summoned “in the coming days”.
“This attack on the integrity of an area placed under the responsibility of France is likely to weaken the links that I had come to cultivate with Israel, at a time when we all need to advance the region on the path of peace”added denounced Jean-Noël Barrot to the press.
For its part, Israeli diplomacy assured that security issues had been “clarified” in advance with the French Embassy in Tel Aviv.
Tensions between Israel and France are “increasing”
The incident occurred while Mr. Barrot was in Israel to discuss possible ceasefire agreements in Gaza and Lebanon, “where Israel fights Iran-backed terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah”contextualise The Guardian.
“Tensions are increasing between Israel and France due to the war in Gaza and strikes in Lebanon”analyse Politico. The media recalls that last month, French President Emmanuel Macron called for an arms embargo against Israel, “a comment that triggered a furious response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu”.
While Emmanuel Macron “has not stopped” to proclaim Israel's right to respond to the terrorist attacks of October 7, he “became more and more critical” regarding the Netanyahu government's response in Gaza, where more than 40,000 people have died since last year's Israeli invasion, and regarding the more recent incursion into Lebanon, “a country that has historical ties with [Paris] ”.
“Series of controversies”
It is about “the latest in a series of controversies” concerning the Sanctuary of Eleona, a Christian pilgrimage site on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, “which, with three other sites, constitutes the French national domain in the Holy Land”deciphers it Times of Israel.
During a previous clash, in 2020, Emmanuel Macron reprimanded an Israeli police officer in front of the Sainte-Anne basilica, the place where, in 1996, President Jacques Chirac lost his temper against Israeli soldiers who surrounded him too closely, throwing “Do you want me to go back? Do you want me to go back to my plane?”retrace The Guardian.
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