Israel has canceled the visas of 27 French left-wing lawmakers and local officials who had been scheduled to arrive this past weekend to tour Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Members of the delegation from France’s Ecologist Party and Communist Party, in a joint statement on April 20, called the move a “collective punishment” by Israel and called for French President Emmanuel Macron to intervene, according to the Ha'aretz newspaper.
They said they had been invited on a five-day trip by the French consulate in Jerusalem and that the visas had been approved a month earlier.
They had intended to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories to “strengthen international and the culture of peace,” according to The Times of Israel.
The group was set to land in Israel on April 20 but received word on April 17 that Israel had annulled their visas, Paris councilor and Ecologist Party member Camille Naget told Ha'aretz.
Their visit would have coincided with a global “Day of Rage” set for April 22 and led by pro-Palestinian groups in countries around the world, according to the Israeli government.
The government warned of the risk of violent incidents against Israelis and expressed concerns that terrorists might use the demonstrations as cover for attacks.
It urged Israelis abroad to remain vigilant and avoid publicly displaying Israeli national symbols.
Macron said on April 9 that France could recognize a Palestinian state as early as June, perhaps in return for other Middle Eastern states recognizing Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed strong opposition to the proposal.
He said doing so in the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre that began the current war was tantamount to “a huge reward for terrorism,” according to The Times of Israel.
In the Oct. 7 attack, more than 3,000 Hamas terrorists attacked dozens of Israeli communities and military outposts near the Gaza frontier. They killed 1,200 people, mostly Israeli civilians, wounded thousands, and took 251 hostages back to Gaza with them.
Israel’s retaliatory counterattack on Hamas in Gaza turned into the ongoing war.
Gazan health authorities say 50,000 people have been killed in the war. Israel says almost half of those were members of Hamas.
Israel’s interior ministry said the 27 politicians and officials were barred under a law that allows authorities to ban people who could act against the state, according to The Times of Israel.
On April 21, The Epoch Times contacted Israel’s Interior Ministry for confirmation and has not yet received a response.
Israeli Prime Minister’s office spokesman David Mencer did not address the matter in a virtual press conference on April 21.
The group included National Assembly deputies Francois Ruffin, Alexis Corbiere, and Julie Ozenne from the Ecologist Party; Communist Party senator Marianne Margate; and Communist Party deputy Soumya Bourouaha.
The other members were left-wing mayors and local lawmakers, according to The Times of Israel. Of the group, 17 were members of the Ecologist or Communist parties.
In its statement, the group denounced the ban as a “major rupture in diplomatic ties” and said the move requires “consequences,” according to The Times of Israel.
It said the two parties have called for recognition of a Palestinian state for decades.
Israel recently blocked other foreign lawmakers from entry as well.
Earlier in April, it detained two British Members of Parliament, Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed, at Ben Gurion Airport and deported them, citing the same reason.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy called the action “unacceptable.”
In February, Israel stopped two left-wing European Parliament deputies, Franco-Palestinian Rima Hassan and Lynn Boylan from Ireland, from entering.
