A diplomatic incident between France and Israel marred 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. “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,” he stressed to the press.
Eléona
Built on the so-called cave « du Pater »where Christ, according to tradition, taught the Our Father (Pater noster, in Latin) to his disciples, it is one of the four French national domains in and near Jerusalem, with the Tomb of the Kings, the Basilica of Sainte-Anne and the ancient crusader commandery of Abu Gosh with their Romanesque churches. “The Eléona estate (…) is an area which has not only belonged to France for more than 150 years, but whose security France ensures”said the minister.
The Eleona “is a holy place”Father Laurent, rector of the Sainte-Anne basilica, explained to AFP. “Here in Israel, the holy places are particularly protected places. We don’t enter with weapons. Moreover, it is a French domain »he added
“Don’t touch me”
Just after the minister’s departure, a new incident involved Israeli police officers in uniform and two French gendarmes in civilian clothes, noted an AFP journalist.
During a very tense exchange, Israeli police officers grabbed one of them, throwing him to the ground before taking him into a police car. The gendarme, who had identified himself, yelled several times “Don’t touch me!” »according to the AFP journalist.
The two gendarmes were then released and a police official explained to them that they were not in uniform and that they had not shown their professional card. “They know that we work at the French consulate general”replied one of the two consulate agents, pointing to the police officers who had arrested him. Israeli police said in a statement that “two individuals, initially unidentified” had “denied entry to the site to Israeli agents responsible for the minister’s security”.
On January 22, 2022, the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron was also marked by a stampede in front of the Sainte-Anne basilica. The president had said in English to an Israeli police officer « I don’t like what you did in front of me » (“I don’t like what you did in front of me”). The best-known incident remains that of 1996, when President Jacques Chirac also lost his temper against Israeli soldiers who surrounded him too closely by throwing « Do you want me to go back to my plane ? » (« Do you want me to get back on my plane? »), before demanding that the soldiers leave the Sainte-Anne domain.
Israeli ambassador summoned
After this diplomatic incident where the Israeli police entered ” army “ et “without permission”according to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, on a site belonging to France, the Quai d’Orsay announced that it was going to summon the Israeli ambassador to Paris.
However, Israel denied being at the origin of this crisis which occurred Thursday in Jerusalem, while the head of French diplomacy wanted to go to a site belonging to France.
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The AFP is, with the Associated Press and Reuters, one of three news agencies which share a virtual monopoly on information in the world. They have in common, unlike its predecessor Havas, that they do not have a shareholder but a board of directors composed mainly of press publishers.
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