French FM backtracks on Israeli sanctions proposal
3 Min Read
Many are saying that such pressure reveals the uniquely powerful influence Zionism has in France.
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French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne addresses a Security Council meeting on the maintenance of peace and security in Ukraine, on February 23, 2024, at United Nations headquarters. (AFP)
Only a day after France's Foreign Minister said that pressure, and possibly sanctions, must be implemented on "Israel" to open crossings and allow the passage of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, Stephane Sejourne has retreated in a session before Parliament.
Speaking with RFI radio and France 24, Stephane Sejourne said, "There must be levers of influence and there are multiple levers, going up to sanctions to let humanitarian aid cross checkpoints."
"France was one of the first countries to propose European Union sanctions on Israeli settlers who are committing acts of violence in the West Bank. We will continue if needed to obtain the opening of humanitarian aid," he added.
According to journalist Socrates Kazolias, France boasts Europe's largest Jewish community, but it also contains the most radical right-wing, anti-Palestinian Jewish community.
Kazolias believes the Jewish community in France wields considerable power and influence in the media and among the political elite.
In 2019, the French parliament infamously associated anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism, and it is presently considering a plan to totally ban anti-Zionism, effectively eliminating any criticism of the Israeli occupation.
Pro-Palestine protests were prohibited nationally for weeks, resulting in hundreds of penalties slapped on demonstrators, with some jailed and imprisoned for merely holding a Palestinian flag as accusations of terrorism sympathy.
Without the opportunity to publicly criticize "Israel's" actions, Paris will be unlikely to diminish its unquestioning support for the occupation, regardless of how many atrocities it commits.
French support for "Israel" faltering
Since October, French popular support for "Israel's" aim to eradicate Hamas has declined from 65% to 56%, while opposition to "Israel's" war has increased from 35% to 44%.
The shift is widely believed to be from gutwrenching and devastating social and alternative media photos.
Read more: France condemns Israeli attack on WCK aid workers in Gaza
The United Nations and other international aid organizations decried on April 7 the devastating toll of six months of the Israeli war in Gaza, warning that the situation in Gaza had become "beyond catastrophic".
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X that October 7 "does not justify the horrific ongoing bombardment, siege and health system demolition by Israel in Gaza, killing, injuring and starving hundreds of thousands of civilians, including aid workers."
"The deaths and grievous injuries of thousands of children in Gaza will remain a stain on all of humanity. This assault on present and future generations must end," he added.
"The denial of basic needs -- food, fuel, sanitation, shelter, security, and healthcare -- is inhumane and intolerable," Ghebreyesus stressed on X.
Tedros highlighted that over 70 percent of those who have been killed in Gaza have been women and children.
He stressed, "We urge all parties to silence their guns. We appeal for peace. Now."
According to the WHO, out of Gaza's 36 main hospitals, only 10 are still even partially functional.
