France calls for EU mission to assist with Palestinian elections

Brussels – “We are calling for an EU mission to be sent to assist with the elections in Palestine,” possibly as early as “mid-September”. France, through its Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, has put an end to the delays and taken an unequivocal stance in support of the Palestinian cause. Upon arrival at Druids Glen, Ireland, to attend the informal meeting of foreign and defence ministers, Barrot announced that he would urge his partners to act and bring about a radical change of course towards a definitive solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Elections in Palestine are scheduled for 28 November and will serve to renew the Legislative Council, that is, the Palestinian parliament. “It is essential that these elections take place in a country seeking self-determination,” said the French Foreign Minister, who is determined to vigorously relaunch the two-state solution process through punitive measures against Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories – which Paris does not hesitate to describe as “illegal expansion” by Israel. 

The French Foreign Minister has gone so far as to overturn the narratives used to date, which portrayed Hamas and its affiliates as the sole terrorists in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Now, however, Barrot denounces that there are “acts of terror by Israeli settlers,” leading France to urge “new sanctions” against those responsible for acts and behaviour that undermine the dignity of the Palestinians. In addition, Paris wants a ban on all goods produced in the illegally occupied Palestinian territories: “We did this in Crimea, as we recognised that the whole thing was illegal,” Barrot noted.

It won’t be easy: sanctions against Israel are dividing the EU, leaving it at a loss for words. France can, however, count on Ireland, the country currently holding the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU. “The settlements are illegal,” criticises Helen McEntee, Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence, who is also convinced that, concerning Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, “we must act and respond decisively.”