Paris (Dispatches) – The Zionist regime cancelled visas for 27 French left-wing lawmakers and local officials two days before they were to start a visit to the Israeli-occupied territories and Palestine on Sunday, the group said.
The action came only days after the Zionist regime stopped two British members of parliament from the governing Labour party from entering the occupied territories.
It also came amidst diplomatic tensions after President Emmanuel Macron said France would soon recognize a Palestinian state. Macron has in turn sought to pressure Netanyahu over conditions in Gaza amid the Zionist regime’s aggression.
The Zionist regime’s interior ministry said visas for the 27 had been cancelled under a law that allows authorities to ba Report: American Who Assaulted Pro-Palestinian Students at UCLA Joins Israeli Military
n people who could act against the regime.
Seventeen members of the group, from France’s Ecologist and Communist parties, said they had been victims of “collective punishment” by the regime and called on Macron to intervene.
They said in a statement that they had been invited on a five-day trip by the French consulate in Al-Quds.
They had intended to visit the occupied territories and Palestine as part of their mission to “strengthen international cooperation and the culture of peace”, they added.
“For the first time, two days before our departure, the Israeli authorities cancelled our entry visas that had been approved one month ago,” they said.
“We want to understand what led to this sudden decision, which resembles collective punishment,” said the group.
The delegation included National Assembly deputies Francois Ruffin, Alexis Corbiere and Julie Ozenne from the Ecologist party, Communist deputy Soumya Bourouaha and Communist senator Marianne Margate.
The other members were left-wing town mayors and local lawmakers.
The statement denounced the ban as a “major rupture in diplomatic ties”.
“Deliberately preventing elected officials and parliamentarians from travelling cannot be without consequences,” the group said, demanding a meeting with Macron and action by the government to ensure Israel let them into the occupied territories.
The group said their parties had for decades called for recognition of a Palestinian state, which Macron said last week could come at an international conference in June.