Israeli police detained a French gendarme at the Eleona Domain (Church of the Pater Noster) in Jerusalem on November 7, 2024. — AFP
France's foreign minister has stated that a repeat of the incident in Jerusalem, where armed Israeli security forces entered a property administered by France, must never occur again. This declaration came ahead of summoning Israel's envoy on Tuesday. Two French security officials with diplomatic status were briefly detained on November 7 after Jean-Noel Barrot was due to visit the compound of The Church of the Pater Noster on the Mount of Olives. The site, one of four administered by France in Jerusalem, is under Paris' responsibility and has seen issues before regarding France's historic holdings in the Holy City.
"It is an opportunity for France to reiterate that it will not tolerate Israeli armed forces entering these areas, for which it (France) is responsible, for which it ensures protection," Barrot told France 24 television when asked what the ambassador would be told. "And to strongly reaffirm that this incident must never happen again, meaning that Israeli forces enter armed and without authorization." Israel's ambassador is scheduled to meet Barrot's chief of staff at the foreign ministry on Tuesday. Israel's foreign ministry has stated that every visiting foreign leader is accompanied by its security personnel, a point that had been "clarified in advance in the preparatory dialogue with the French Embassy in Israel."
Diplomatic relations between France and Israel have deteriorated since President Emmanuel Macron called for an end to the supply of offensive weapons to Israel used in Gaza. The French government also attempted to ban Israeli weapons' firms from exhibiting at a trade fair in Paris and has become increasingly uneasy over Israel's conduct in the wars in Gaza and Lebanon.
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