The Israeli police surrounded the two French gendarmes and pushed one of them to the ground at the Elona church compound.
The French Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday it will summon Israel’s ambassador over the entry of armed Israeli soldiers to a French-owned church compound in occupied Jerusalem and the arrest of two French Consulate gendarmes. French media reported.
The diplomatic standoff between the two countries reportedly led French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot to cancel his visit to the Eleona church compound, describing the incident as “unacceptable.”
An Agence France Presse (AFP) reporter on-site said that the Israeli police surrounded the two French gendarmes and pushed one of them to the ground.
According to the AFP journalist, the gendarme identified himself while shouting “Don’t touch me” several times.
Ci dessous, l’arrestation d’un gendarme Français au sein du consulat général de France (Elona) à Jérusalem.
➡️ Est il utile de rappeler que le viol d’un consulat est une déclaration de guerre ? Tu imagines la même chose au Maroc ?pic.twitter.com/fwRAe5WgYt
— 🔴 Encore fallait-il que je le susse 🔴 (@AmarilloLeones) November 7, 2024
“I will not enter the Eleona Domain today, because Israeli security forces entered with weapons, without prior French authorization, without agreeing to leave,” the French foreign minister said on site.
Barrot, who is currently on a visit to Israel and occupied Palestine, was supposed to visit the Elona compound, which is one of four French-owned sites that constitute the French domain in occupied Jerusalem.
Following the incident, the French foreign minister said that the “violation” at the Elona compound was “liable to weaken the ties that I came here to cultivate with Israel, at a time when all of us need to help the region advance on the path towards peace,” according to AFP.
Barrot went on to stress that the domain “has not only belonged to France for more than 150 years, but France also ensures its security, maintains it.”
“The integrity of the four domains that France is responsible for here in Jerusalem must be respected,” he added.
For his part, Israel’s foreign ministry claimed that the security protocol for the visit had been “clarified” in advance.
– Gendarme 🇫🇷: « Est-ce que vous êtes sûrs de vouloir arrêter des militaires français ?
– Police 🇮🇱: OUI !Hier à Jérusalem, la police israélienne s’est introduite dans l’Élona un site appartenant à la France depuis 1868, pour violemment interpeller deux gendarmes français qui… pic.twitter.com/aJYf6fvmuL
— Les Répliques (@Les_Repliques) November 8, 2024
Not First Standoff
The latest incident is not the first between the two countries over France’s historic properties in occupied Jerusalem.
French President Emmanuel Macron while on a visit to St. Anne Church in 2022 – another site under French custodianship -angrily asked Israeli security officers to leave the basilica.
Earlier in 1996, late French President Jacques Chirac was seen shouting at Israeli security officers and described their treatment as provocative.
The recent incident comes amidst strained relations between Israel and France following a series of events most notably of which is Macron’s call on October 5, for an arms ban on Israel, amidst criticism of its military operations in Gaza.
According to AFP, Macron emphasized the need to shift focus towards a political resolution during an interview with France Inter, which was recorded earlier in October.
“I think that today, the priority is that we return to a political solution, that we stop delivering weapons to fight in Gaza,” he reportedly stated, claiming that “France is not delivering any.”
(PC, Agencies)
