(JNS) France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, on Wednesday said his country would push for fresh sanctions on Israel in connection with Judea and Samaria, including an EU-wide ban on products made or marketed by Israelis there.
The remarks, which Barrot made during the EU’s informal meeting of foreign ministers in Ireland, drew condemnation from a leader of French Jewry and praise from a Palestinian Authority Cabinet minister.
“These settlers, through their activities and acts of terror, not only threaten the two-state solution and constitute an unacceptable affront to the dignity of the Palestinian people, but also jeopardize the security of Israel itself and the security of the region,” Barrot said of Israelis living in Judea and Samaria.
“We will advocate for sanctions, new sanctions, against those responsible for the settlement activity and violence,” he said, adding: “The European Union, which has competence in matters of trade, cannot allow products from illegal settlements in the West Bank to illegally enter the territory of the European Union.”
Barrot likened action against the sale of Israeli products from Judea and Samaria to sanctions against importing goods from Russian-held parts of Ukraine.
The two largest EU economies, France and Germany, are split on attempts to boycott Israeli products from Judea and Samaria. France wishes to broaden the ban introduced this year by Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland. Germany, however, is opposed to a ban, while still condemning Israeli expansion of its communities in Judea and Samaria, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said in July.
Additional EU countries with close ties to Israel, such as Greece, Italy, Finland, Lithuania and Slovenia, may also oppose a proposed ban.
Ariel Goldmann, the president of the Jewish United Social Fund (FSJU), a major French-Jewish nonprofit organization, condemned what he called Barrot’s “obsession” with Israel.
Barrot “seems to have made the situation in Israel his absolute priority,” Goldmann wrote on X, at a time when “war [with Russia] is at Europe’s gate.” Goldmann said it was “perfectly legitimate for a foreign minister to be concerned with the Middle East. But this obsession, the frequency, and above all the virulence” of some of Barrot’s remarks on Israel “raise questions.”
Goldmann also suggested that France’s foreign policy was affecting its antisemitism problem. “When France constantly gives the impression that it views the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a systematically biased lens, it may not be surprising that the climate settling in our country is what it is,” Goldmann wrote.
Philippe Meyer, the president of B’nai B’rith France, said that “making Israel the culprit will not save the two-state solution.”
In France and beyond, Meyer added on X, “The obsessive hatred of Israel always ends up targeting Jews. Diplomacy is not a biased tribunal. It requires lucidity, balance, and courage.” Tagging Barrot on X, Meyer added: “Even the Quai d’Orsay should be able to understand that.” Quai d’Orsay is the headquarters of France’s Foreign Ministry.
Varsen Aghabekian Shahin, the Palestinian Authority’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, welcomed Barrot’s remarks.
“We welcome these principled words from [the] EU [The] Palestinian people deserve not only solidarity, but meaningful action to end occupation, protect our people, and hold extremist settlers accountable,” she wrote, adding that this was to achieve “a just and lasting resolution” of the conflict.
Want more news from Israel?
Click Here to sign up for our FREE daily email updates
