The Israeli government has cancelled visas for 27 French left-wing lawmakers and local officials just two days before they were set to begin a five-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories.
The delegation, comprising members of France’s Ecologist and Communist parties, was invited by the French consulate in Jerusalem. Their mission, according to the group, aimed to “strengthen international cooperation and promote a culture of peace.”
Israel’s interior ministry justified the action, citing a law that allows the government to deny entry to individuals deemed likely to act against the State of Israel. This decision comes amid growing diplomatic tensions between Israel and France, especially after French President Emmanuel Macron recently announced that France would move toward recognizing a Palestinian state at an international conference in June.
17 members of the group have denounced the visa cancellations as “collective punishment” and called on President Macron to intervene. “For the first time, two days before our departure, the Israeli authorities canceled our entry visas that had been approved one month ago,” The Times of Israel quoted the group as saying.
“We want to understand what led to this sudden decision, which resembles collective punishment,” they added.
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The lawmakers also demanded a meeting with Macron and urged his administration to take firm action to address what they termed a “major rupture in diplomatic ties.”
The delegation included National Assembly deputies Franois Ruffin, Alexis Corbire, and Julie Ozenne (Ecologist Party), Communist deputy Soumya Bourouaha, and Communist senator Marianne Margate, along with several left-wing mayors and local council members.
This incident comes after similar actions were taken by Israel against European officials. Just days earlier, Israeli authorities detained and deported two British MPs from the governing Labour Party—Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed—at Tel Aviv’s airport, citing the same law. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy criticized the move as “unacceptable.”
Earlier in February, Israel also blocked entry to two left-wing members of the European Parliament—Franco-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan and Irish MEP Lynn Boylan.
Netanyahu has strongly opposed any moves toward recognizing a Palestinian state, saying that such recognition would be a “huge reward for terrorism.”
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