French FM: Israeli settler violence against Palestinians must stop
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French Foreign Minister meets with Benjamin Netanyahu urging for a ceasefire and the end of Israeli settler violence and deliberate displacement of Palestinians.
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, right, receives French foreign minister Stéphane Séjourné at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Monday, Feb. 5, 2024 (AP)
Today, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne stated "Israeli settler violence must stop" against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
During a Middle East tour aimed at a ceasefire in Gaza Sejourne stated "Under no circumstances can there be forced displacement of Palestinians, neither out of Gaza nor out of the West Bank."
The French minister condemned the anti-Palestinian campaign and "even calls to commit war crimes" by Israeli officials after they appeared to endorse Jewish re-settlement of the Gaza Strip after the war, another Nakba while also calling for the support of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Serjourne stated, "The future of the Gaza Strip is inseparable from the future of the West Bank, we must prepare for this future by supporting the Palestinian Authority."
"It must renew itself and redeploy as soon as possible in the Gaza Strip, adding " where Hamas seized power in 2007."
In his first tour to the Middle East since taking office in January the French diplomat further emphasized "I repeat: Gaza is Palestinian land," calling for "a comprehensive political solution, with two states living in peace side by side," urging a ceasefire "without delay."
"Without a political solution, there will be no just and lasting peace in the Middle East," Sejourne elaborated.
Since October 7 at least 381 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops and settlers in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah.
Israeli rights group, Yesh Din, called 2023 the "most violent" year on record for settler attacks.
Sejourne today was due to travel to Ramallah to meet his Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Maliki as well as President Abbas.
The French FM is not the first one
US President Joe Biden issued an executive order on Thursday in response to the continued calls to put an end to increased violence in which Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank commit crimes against Palestinians.
According to claims by the White House National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, Biden's executive order creates a framework for implementing financial sanctions and visa restrictions on individuals identified to have engaged in acts of aggression or intimidation against Palestinians, including the seizure of their property.
"Today’s actions seek to promote peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike," Sullivan claimed.
The executive order results in the freezing of any assets held in the United States by the targeted individuals and generally prohibits Americans from engaging in transactions with them.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the State Department has moved to sanction four Israelis involved in extremist settler activities following President Joe Biden's executive order today.
The Department named four people who it said were involved in settler-led attacks on Palestinians: David Chai Chasdai, Einan Tanjil, Shalom Zicherman, and Yinon Levi. There can be no justification for extremist violence "whatever their national origin, ethnicity, or religion," Blinken said in a statement.
"Israel must do more to stop violence against civilians in the West Bank and hold accountable those responsible for it," Blinken said.
"The United States will continue to take actions to advance the foreign policy objectives of the United States, including the viability of a two-state solution, and is committed to the safety, security, and dignity of Israelis and Palestinians alike," he added.
