New France-Israel dispute as Paris bars settlement official from entering
French authorities have denied entry to Yossi Dagan, head of the regional council representing Israeli settlements in the northern West Bank. Israel described the decision on Wednesday as “unacceptable”.
Dagan’s office said he was forced to leave France after his aircraft landed at a Paris airport last week.
According to the statement, he was “taken aside during passport checks and questioned” before being informed that he was barred from entering French territory.
France’s Foreign Ministry did not confirm Dagan’s removal to Agence France-Presse, but said he was “subject to an administrative entry ban because of his active role in implementing settlement policy in the West Bank”.
The ministry reiterated that “settlement construction violates international law and undermines the two-state solution”.
The incident comes amid growing tensions between Israel and European countries, particularly over escalating settler violence and settlement expansion in the West Bank under outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry called the measure against Dagan “completely unacceptable”, saying it was based on “clearly political and ideological grounds”.
“Israel will seek clarification from the French government and consider its next steps accordingly,” it added.
Excluding East Jerusalem, around three million Palestinians live in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, alongside more than 500,000 Israelis residing in settlements considered illegal under international law.
Violence in the West Bank has intensified alongside the war in the Gaza Strip, which began on 7 October 2023. Settler attacks against Palestinians have also increased in recent months, after years in which perpetrators largely escaped prosecution by Israeli authorities.
At least 1,116 Palestinians, including armed men, have been killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers since the Gaza war began, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian Authority figures.
Official Israeli data, meanwhile, show that at least 51 Israelis, including civilians and military personnel, have been killed in attacks carried out by Palestinians or during confrontations with Israeli forces.
The escalating violence prompted several countries, including France, to announce in September their intention to impose sanctions on trade with Israeli settlements.
Last Monday, a French parliamentary committee approved a bill seeking to prohibit imports of goods produced in Israeli settlements, as well as services contributing to their construction.
