The head of French diplomacy Jean-Noël Barrot met Thursday in Jerusalem with Israel Katz, outgoing Minister of Foreign Affairs, whose country has been at war for more than a year on several fronts.
Mr. Barrot declared on his X account that he was coming to Israel “to continue a demanding dialogue on Lebanon and Gaza”, where the army is fighting Lebanese Hezbollah and Palestinian Hamas, two allies of Iran.
He had already visited Israel less than a month ago, on the occasion of the first anniversary of the bloody Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Wearing the yellow ribbon on the lapel of his jacket, the symbol of the hostages held in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, he met earlier in Tel Aviv with relatives of two Franco-Israeli hostages, Ohad Yahalomi and Ofer Kalderon.
They are among 97 Israeli hostages still held in the Gaza Strip, 34 of whom are considered dead by the Israeli army.
According to his services, Mr. Barrot should also meet with Ron Dermer, a member of the government and close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. French foreign ministers have visited Israel and the Palestinian Territories several times since the unprecedented Hamas attack.
Mr. Barrot will then go to the Mount of Olives, in East Jerusalem, the Palestinian part of the city occupied and annexed by Israel since 1967. He will go to the French national domain of Eleona, within which there is a Benedictine monastery.
The head of French diplomacy said Tuesday on France 2 that he was making this trip to demand a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and “respect for international humanitarian law” in the Palestinian territory besieged and ravaged for more than a year of war.
This visit comes as relations between Israel and Paris have become significantly strained in recent weeks, after statements by President Emmanuel Macron calling for an end to sales of weapons used in Gaza or accusing Israel of “sowing barbarity”. “The dialogue has never been broken,” insisted Mr. Barrot during the television interview.
Mr. Barrot declared on his X account that he was coming to Israel “to continue a demanding dialogue on Lebanon and Gaza”, where the army…
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