France accuses Israel of tolerating West Bank violence
France accused Israel on Sunday of tolerating escalating violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, as diplomatic tensions between Israel and several European countries intensified over settlement policy and the treatment of Palestinians.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said there was an “unprecedented” increase in violence by extremist Israelis against Palestinians and accused the Israeli government of showing a “guilty and scandalous level of tolerance” toward developments in the territory.
Barrot was defending remarks made last week by French President Emmanuel Macron at the UN General Assembly in New York. Macron said violations were taking place daily in the West Bank and questioned what they were being carried out in the name of.
Israel condemned Macron’s remarks. The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described them as “arrogant absurdity” and alleged that Hamas members had targeted Israeli civilians in the West Bank.
Barrot said Macron’s comments had been taken out of context, arguing that French criticism was directed at Israeli government policy and that efforts to weaken Hamas could not justify what he described as tolerance toward violence and other developments in the West Bank.
Israel moves against Dutch diplomats
The dispute has also spilled into diplomatic relations between Israel and the Netherlands.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Israel had given Dutch diplomats working in Ramallah seven days to return Israeli-issued diplomatic documents. He said their diplomatic privileges and immunities would expire if they failed to meet the deadline.
The decision followed a Dutch measure that took effect on Sept. 22 banning the import, purchase and sale of goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. The Dutch government also prohibits services that facilitate such trade.
Sa’ar said the Netherlands could continue representing its interests with Palestinians from Palestinian Authority territory.
The Dutch government had not immediately commented on Israel’s decision.
The Dutch restrictions followed a Sept. 14 announcement by 12 European countries, including France, Britain, Spain and Sweden, that they intended to impose trade restrictions on Israeli settlements and called for an end to settlement expansion and violence by Israeli settlers.
The UN has repeatedly said Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories violate international law and undermine prospects for a two-state solution.
Israeli opposition targets government over security
Meanwhile, Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot accused Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir of presiding over what he called a “historic low” in Israel’s internal security.
Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, made the comments after residents of Givot Bar in the northern Negev reported heavy gunfire.
He accused the government of failing to combat organized crime and restore state control in parts of southern Israel, while criticizing Ben-Gvir for what he described as a focus on populist messaging rather than law enforcement.
Eisenkot said his party’s security proposals include stronger police and intelligence capabilities, additional resources and a cabinet-level body to combat organized crime.
Israel is scheduled to hold its next Knesset election on Oct. 27.
Calls grow to reestablish Gaza settlements
Separately, Israeli ministers and lawmakers joined thousands of protesters in a vehicle convoy toward the Gaza border on Sunday in support of reestablishing Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli media.
The demonstration was organized by the Nachala Settlement Movement and other right-wing groups. Organizers called for the return of settlements evacuated during Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from Gaza.
Nachala leader Daniella Weiss said participants were preparing to establish a presence in areas including the former settlement of Nisanit in northern Gaza.
Israel dismantled and evacuated its Gaza settlements in 2005 under a unilateral disengagement plan.
The push comes amid the continuing fallout from the war that began in October 2023. Gaza health authorities say Israeli attacks have killed nearly 74,000 Palestinians and wounded about 175,000.
Palestinian American describes West Bank attack
The latest diplomatic tensions came as a Palestinian American said Israeli settlers attacked his home and burned three vehicles in Abu Falah, a village east of Ramallah.
Mustafa Zaatar told Anadolu that dozens of armed settlers entered the village at about 1.30 a.m., surrounded his home, damaged property and set the vehicles on fire.
Zaatar said he watched the attack through surveillance cameras and that residents later confronted the attackers and extinguished the fires.
“They are trying to force us off our land,” he said. “We will stay here. We will not leave.”
Zaatar said his US citizenship had not provided protection during the incident. He said relatives in the United States contacted the US consulate, which later reached him, and he requested that consular officials visit his home to assess the damage.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee described settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank as “terrorism” in August and warned that such violence damages Israel’s international image.
Palestinian authorities say violence and Israeli military operations in the West Bank have intensified since the Gaza war began, with at least 1,206 Palestinians, including 254 children, killed, about 13,350 wounded and more than 24,600 arrested during the period.
Source:AA
