The rag is burning between France and Israel. The visit to Jerusalem by French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot was disrupted yesterday, Thursday, November 7, 2024 when Israeli police entered “armed” et “without permission”according to him, on a religious site belonging to France. A diplomatic incident which raises questions about properties held by France in Jerusalem and the law that applies there.
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Four estates in Jerusalem
France holds several properties that are part of what is called the French national domain in the Holy Land. A membership that dates back to the Ottoman Empire during which France was entrusted with a mission to protect the Christians of the Holy Land, recalls in particular RFI. These properties are managed and administered by the French Consulate General in Jerusalem, adds Le Figaro .
This national domain includes four sites: Eléona, Abou Gosh, the Tomb of the Kings and Sainte-Anne.
The Eléona, on which Thursday's incident occurred, is a property of France located on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem, the Palestinian part of the city occupied and annexed by Israel since 1967. It includes a church with the so-called Pater cave. The site was bought in 1856 by Princess de la Tour d'Auvergne, a French aristocrat who built a cloister there. She then donated it to France upon her death in 1874.
Abou Gosh is a former commandery which was offered to France by the Ottoman Empire. The site was gradually restored by France and became a monastery.
The Tomb of the Kings is a poorly named site since it is the tomb of Princess Helen of Adiabene (region corresponding to Kurdistan), who had built a palace and a family mausoleum there. “The site, excavated in 1863 by French archaeologists, was acquired by the Péreire brothers, famous bankers of the Second Empire, who gave it to France in 1886”indicates the consulate website.
Finally, the domain of Sainte-Anne is a Romanesque church dating from the 12the century, located within the walls of Jerusalem. This is where the parents of the Virgin Mary would have lived. The Sainte-Anne church was converted into a Koranic school and then offered to Napoleon III by the Sultan in 1856, to thank him for his support during the Crimean War. “It was restored by the French government following damage during the Six-Day War of 1967”specifies the consulate.
Eléona at the heart of an incident on Thursday
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barot, was visiting the Eléona estate when Israeli police officers entered “armed” et “without authorization”, according to him, on the religious site. “The domain of Eléona […] is an area which has not only belonged to France for more than 150 years, but whose security France ensures”underlined the minister. He denounced a “attack on the integrity of an area placed under the responsibility of France”. Criticizing a “unacceptable situation”the minister finally decided not to enter this pilgrimage site, reported theAFP.
A French diplomatic source told West France that it had been agreed with the Israeli authorities “before the visit” that“no Israeli armed security would be allowed to return”.
After the minister's departure, uniformed Israeli police officers arrested two French gendarmes in civilian clothes, reportsAFP. According to the two gendarmes who were subsequently released, the Israeli police knew that they were attached to the consulate and under diplomatic status, while Israel maintains the opposite. The French diplomatic source denounced “the false allegations disseminated by the Israeli authorities”in particular on the fact that the gendarmes did not identify themselves. “There was no ambiguity”adds the diplomatic source, referring to long discussions before the arrest.
“A diplomatic agent has protection to exercise his functions in the country where he is accredited”recalls the Vie publique website. “The agent cannot, except in exceptional circumstances, be arrested or detained, has the freedom to move and does not pay taxes or customs duties in the State which hosts him”we can read.
Who ensures the security of these domains?
For its part, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs defended that the presence of Israeli security personnel on Thursday at the Eléona was “objective of guaranteeing security” of the French minister.
According to the French diplomatic source we interviewed, “There cannot be armed Israeli security entering the site without the consent of the consulate. As property of the French government, it is up to the French government to ensure its integrity and security. He has sole responsibility for it”she emphasizes.
The Eléona, next to which is a Carmelite convent also under French diplomatic protection, is above all “a holy place”points near theAFP Father Laurent, rector of the Sainte-Anne basilica. “Here in Israel, the holy places are particularly protected places. We don't enter with weapons.”he added.
Chirac in 1996, Macron in 2020… precedents
Other incidents occurred in Jerusalem in French domains. On January 22, 2020, Emmanuel Macron became annoyed during his visit to the Sainte-Anne basilica, in front of which a stampede broke out. Asking him to leave the church, the French president declared 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”).
But 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.
According to the diplomatic source, the incident involving Israeli police officers on Thursday remains “unprecedented”evoking a “violent arrest” where one of the two gendarmes was “violently knocked to the ground with an arm lock”.
The Israeli ambassador in Paris will be summoned “in the coming days” to discuss this incident, announced the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
