France slams Israel after gendarmes detained in occupied East Jerusalem

Officers freed aft little detention during sojourn by France’s apical diplomat, pinch some sides trading blasted complete incident.

France has accused Israel of harming bilateral ties aft Israeli forces entered a beatified tract nether French management successful occupied East Jerusalem and concisely detained 2 gendarmes pinch negotiated status.

The incident took spot connected Thursday arsenic French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot was owed to sojourn nan compound of nan Church of nan Pater Noster connected nan Mount of Olives. The site, 1 of 4 administered by France successful Jerusalem, is nether Paris’s work and deemed portion of France.

French negotiated sources told nan Reuters news agency that Israeli information had been told not to participate earlier Barrot’s visit.

Barrot refused to participate nan compound, called Eleona successful French, while they were present.

Two French information officials were past concisely detained, nan sources said, adding that nan Israelis were alert nan 2 were from nan consulate and had negotiated status.

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs maintained that nan information protocol for nan sojourn had been “clarified” successful advance, and nan constabulary said nan French gendarmes had not identified themselves and had obstructed their work.

The ministry said successful a connection that an statement ensued betwixt Israeli forces and nan 2 French information guards. They were released instantly aft they identified themselves arsenic diplomats, it said.

The AFP news agency reported that Israeli constabulary surrounded nan 2 French gendarmes, who were not successful uniform, earlier pushing 1 of them to nan ground.

The gendarme identified himself and shouted, “Don’t touch me!” respective times, according to AFP. Both gendarmes were past led into constabulary cars.

Troubled ties

The conflict casts a protector complete negotiated relations that are already strained complete Israel’s wars successful Gaza and Lebanon.

“This usurpation of nan integrity of a tract nether French work risks undermining nan ties I had travel to nurture pinch Israel astatine a clip erstwhile we each request to move guardant nan region connected nan way to peace,” a visibly angry Barrot told reporters extracurricular nan building.

Israel’s ambassador to France will beryllium summoned successful nan coming days, nan French Ministry for Foreign Affairs said successful a statement.

Diplomatic relations betwixt France and Israel person worsened since President Emmanuel Macron called for an extremity to supplying Israel pinch violative weapons utilized successful Gaza.

The French authorities besides banned Israeli weapons firms from exhibiting astatine a waste and acquisition adjacent successful Paris and has go progressively uneasy complete Israel’s behaviour successful its offensives successful Gaza and Lebanon.

French officials person many times said Paris is committed to Israel’s information and that its subject helped take sides Israel amid Iranian rocket attacks earlier this year.

Barrot’s travel had aimed to property Israel to prosecute diplomatically to extremity nan conflicts successful nan region now that nan statesmanlike predetermination successful nan United States is over.

It was not nan first clip that tensions person arisen surrounding France’s humanities holdings successful nan city.

In 2020, Macron mislaid his temper erstwhile visiting nan Church of St Anne, different tract nether French administration, demanding Israeli information unit time off nan Jerusalem basilica.

In 1996, France’s then-President Jacques Chirac mislaid patience pinch Israeli information agents astatine nan aforesaid church, telling 1 of them that his curen was a “provocation” and threatened to get backmost connected his plane.

Source

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Al Jazeera and news agencies