Over 100 Ex-Diplomats Urge France and UK to Sanction Israel Over Palestine
A coalition of 102 former British and French diplomats is calling on London and Paris to jointly sanction Israel, warning in an open letter published by the French outlet Le Monde and reported by The Guardian and Al Jazeera that Israeli settlement policies in the occupied West Bank threaten to permanently erase the possibility of an independent Palestinian state.
Diplomats Call for Joint Sanctions Over West Bank Settlements
According to an open letter published by the French outlet Le Monde and reported by The Guardian and Al Jazeera, 52 former French diplomats and 50 former British ambassadors are urging their respective governments to move beyond statements and enact tangible penalties. The signatories include former British ambassadors to the United Nations Jeremy Greenstock and Emyr Jones Parry, alongside former French Middle East directors Yves Aubin de la Messuziere and Denis Bauchard.
The letter states that Palestinian house demolitions and settler violence backed by the Israeli army amount to ethnic cleansing, adding that the international community no longer views Israel as a genuine democracy. Nicholas Hopton, a former UK ambassador to Iran, Qatar and Yemen and one of the signatories, told Al Jazeera that the language reflects assessments made by international legal bodies and the United Nations rather than the diplomats themselves.
Proposed Measures and Policy Demands
The former diplomats argue that both the United Kingdom and France bear a historic responsibility stemming from the post-World War I mandates over Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon. Having recognized a Palestinian state in 2025, the two European nations must now take concrete steps to make that recognition real, according to the text.
The letter outlines specific actions for London and Paris to adopt jointly, which include suspending European Union-Israel and UK-Israel trade agreements, halting arms transfers, and banning military cooperation. Additional measures call for a prohibition on trade with Israeli settlements, a ban on citizens purchasing property on occupied Palestinian land, and guaranteed humanitarian access to Gaza through UN agencies such as UNRWA. Peter Millett, a former British ambassador to Libya, told Al Jazeera that ministers have spent months issuing criticisms without backing them up with trade or arms restrictions.
Diplomatic Backlash and Regional Context
The diplomatic push arrives just days after the UK, France, and nine other nations condemned the Israeli government’s publication of construction tenders for the E1 settlement project. British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband summoned the senior Israeli diplomat in the UK, Daniela Grudsky Ekstein, describing the plans for 1,200 homes bisecting the West Bank as a destructive threat to a two-state solution. In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar stated that his country would not remain passive, asserting that Jewish people possess the right to live throughout Israel.