A diplomatic incident between France and Israel disrupted Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot’s visit to Jerusalem when Israeli police entered “armed” and “without authorization,” according to him, on a religious site belonging to France.
The rag is burning between the two countries. A diplomatic incident between France and Israel disrupted the visit to Jerusalem of French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Thursday when Israeli police entered “armed” and “without authorization,” according to him, on a religious site belonging to the France.
According to an AFP journalist on site, Israeli police officers entered the grounds of the Eléona national domain, owned by France since the 19th century located on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem, the Palestinian part of the city occupied and annexed by Israel since 1967.
“Don’t touch me!” »
“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 to peace,” denounced Jean-Noël Barrot to the press. Criticizing an “unacceptable situation”, the minister finally decided not to enter this pilgrimage site.
Just after the minister’s departure, a new incident involved Israeli police officers in uniform and two French gendarmes in civilian clothes, noted the AFP journalist. During a very tense exchange, Israeli police officers grabbed one of the gendarmes, throwing him to the ground before taking him into a police car. The gendarme, who had identified himself, shouted several times, “Don’t touch me!” », According to this journalist.
Built on the grotto known as “du Pater”, where Christ, according to Christian tradition, would have taught the Our Father (Pater noster, in Latin) to his disciples, it is one of the four French national domains and near Jerusalem, with the Tomb of the kings, the basilica of Sainte-Anne and the old crusader commandery of Abu Gosh with their Romanesque churches.
Israeli ambassador to Paris summoned
The Israeli ambassador in Paris will be summoned “in the coming days” to discuss this incident, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced. For its part, Israeli diplomacy assured that security questions had been “clarified” in advance with the French embassy in Tel Aviv.
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