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BREAKING
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.
Sheikh Qassem: The government’s latest decision [on the disarmament of the Resistance] is non-charter-based, and if the government continues down this path, it is not faithful to Lebanon’s sovereignty.

Israeli envoy faces French rebuke over al-Quds church incident

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Israeli media
  • 12 Nov 2024 22:14
3 Min Read

The dispute arose last Thursday when Israeli police stormed the Eleona Church on the Mount of Olives without authorization and detained two French guards.

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    The flags of France, "Israel" and the European Union are pictured at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, on Tuesday, June 5, 2018 (AP)

Israeli news outlets on Tuesday reported that "Israel's" Ambassador to France, Joshua Zarka, will meet with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot in Paris for a formal reprimand following a diplomatic dispute involving Israeli police and French diplomatic staff at a "French-owned" church in occupied al-Quds.

The dispute arose last Thursday when Israeli police stormed the Eleona Church on the Mount of Olives without authorization and detained two French guards with diplomatic visas, sparking tensions.

The guards, employed by the French Consulate in occupied al-Quds, were detained during a scuffle just before Barrot's planned visit to the historic site.

This is crazy: Israeli police arrests 2 French military personnel ("gendarmes") with diplomatic status in a Christian church (the Eleona Church) that has officially belonged to France for 160 years and is protected by diplomatic immunity: pic.twitter.com/LjSkNJpaIs

To make things…

— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) November 8, 2024

A statement from the French government condemned the Israeli forces' actions, stating, "without having been authorized to do so, Israeli security forces entered the site armed." Barrot ultimately canceled his visit, citing the unauthorized intervention as a primary reason.

"Israel's" Foreign Ministry later claimed that the guards were detained after refusing to identify themselves but were released once they presented their diplomatic credentials. However, French officials insist that the release only occurred after Barrot's direct intervention.

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Strained relations

The incident took place just as France has been reportedly working to de-escalate regional tensions, adding to the diplomatic strain.

Lately, diplomatic tensions between France and "Israel" have intensified following French President Emmanuel Macron's recent call to halt arms shipments to "Israel".

Macron has called for an end to arms exports to "Israel" to prevent further escalation, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called the embargo proposals by Western leaders "shameful".

Read more: Macron to attend France-'Israel' football match

France has also been pressuring "Israel" to cease its aggression on Lebanon. During a phone call with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in mid-October, Macron expressed grave concern over the intensity of "Israel's" strikes on Lebanon and their "dramatic" impact on civilians.

He emphasized the urgent need for a ceasefire in Lebanon and reaffirmed France's unwavering commitment to the country's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security, in accordance with UN Resolution 1701.

The Resolution was reached in the wake of the 2006 Israeli war on Lebanon and calls for the full cessation of hostilities and the deployment of the Lebanese Army to Southern Lebanon, as well as the establishment of a demilitarized zone between the Blue Line buffer zone [between Lebanon and the occupied Palestinian territories] and the Litani River.

"Israel" completely disregarded the resolution in the aftermath of the war, continuously violating Lebanese sovereignty with overflights from its aircraft.

Read more: 76 Rights groups set to file lawsuit to arrest Smotrich in Paris

  • Palestine
  • Israel
  • Al-Quds
  • Eleona Church
  • Joshua Zarka
  • France
  • Jean-Noël Barrot

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