Question 13503 — foreign policy

Summary

Ms. Gabrielle Cathala questions the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs about the inertia of French diplomacy in the face of what the United Nations describes as “ethnic cleansing” in the occupied West Bank, i.e. within the State of Palestine, recognized by France. While the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights once again warned, on February 26, 2026, about Israeli crimes, declaring that “taken in their Together, Israel's actions appear to seek to bring about permanent demographic change in Gaza and the West Bank, raising concerns of ethnic cleansing,” field data confirms an unprecedented acceleration of settlement. Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli army and police have killed 1,020 Palestinians in the West Bank, in addition to Palestinians murdered by settlers. For the only period beginning in January 2025, military operations in the north of the territory led to the forced displacement of 32,000 people. According to the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem, 21 Palestinian communities were fully or partially uprooted in 2025 as a result of violence committed by settlers supported by the Israeli state. On December 10, 2025, the Israel Land Authority issued a tender for 3,401 housing units in area E1, east of Jerusalem, in the occupied West Bank. This project to expand the illegal settlement of Maale Adumim will create continuity with occupied East Jerusalem, which will divide the West Bank in two, definitively severing Palestinian urban contiguity between Ramallah, occupied East Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Combined with the construction of a bypass road on which work must begin this month, the plan will result in the forced transfer of Palestinians living in the area. On December 11, 2025, Israel's Security Cabinet approved plans to establish 19 new settlements, bringing the total number approved by the current Coalition Government to 68 in just three years and the total number of official settlements to approximately 210. 750,000 Israeli settlers live today, illegally in West Bank, including East Jerusalem.   This acceleration of colonization reached a critical stage with the approval, on February 9, 2026, by the Israeli cabinet of radical administrative and legal measures aimed at reforming land law. According to a statement from the Israeli finance and defense ministries, the decisions aim to remove historic protections prohibiting the purchase of land by non-Palestinians, in order to “fundamentally modify the legal and civil reality” in the West Bank, which amounts to institutional annexation. However, despite the joint statement by the foreign ministers of twenty countries (including France) published on February 23, 2026 to condemn this “manifest strategy” and this “unacceptable de facto annexation”, France's action remains limited to words and actions. communicated, without sanctions or effective diplomatic or commercial pressure measures. In its official communications, the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs indicates that “European legislation does not provide for prohibiting the importation of Israeli products from the colonies” and justifies the absence of national sanctions by a desire to act only in concert with its European partners. This posture waiting contravenes the obligations defined by the opinion of the International Court of Justice of July 19, 2024, which asks States to take measures to prevent trade or investments likely to maintain the illicit situation created by Israel. To date, France's action is limited to a simple "interpretative communication" relating to labeling, consisting of the obligation of labeling of products from Israeli settlements distinct from that of Israeli products. Difficult to control by customs and difficult to understand for consumers, this measure therefore appears largely ineffective. As such, a study carried out by the European Middle East Project organization in 2020 revealed that 90% of wines from settlements sold in Europe still bore misleading labels such as Made in Israel. But maintaining flows commercial guarantees the economic viability of colonial structures which illegally appropriate Palestinian natural resources. This is why the MP asks the Minister what restrictive measures France intends to adopt to prohibit the importation of products from the colonies in occupied Palestinian territory. She recalls that her parliamentary group tabled a bill aimed at prohibit the importation of products from Israeli colonies established in the occupied Palestinian territory. She wishes to know her position on this text (No. 1941, filed in October 2025). She also questions him on the reasons why France has still not invoked article 2 of the EU-Israel association agreement, which conditions this agreement on respect for human rights. It is urgent to obtain the suspension immediately, once evidence of serious and systematic violations is documented by the European Union. She also asks why France is also not complying with the opinion of the International Court of Justice of July 19, 2024, the conclusions of which were taken up by a resolution of September 18, 2024 largely adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. Indeed, this opinion indicates that the policies and Israeli practices amount to the annexation of large parts of the occupied Palestinian territory. According to the Court, third States have the obligation not to recognize as legal the illicit presence of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory and must not provide aid or assistance to Israel in maintaining the occupation. According to the opinion, this includes “refraining from maintaining economic or commercial activities concerning the Occupied Palestinian Territory or parts thereof, which risk establishing its illegal presence in the Territory”. For all intents and purposes, it reminds him of several points of this opinion: “the continued presence of the State of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful; the State of Israel is obliged to put an end to its illicit presence in the occupied Palestinian territory as soon as possible. short deadlines; the State of Israel is obliged to immediately cease all new settlement activity and evacuate all settlers from the occupied Palestinian territory; the State of Israel has the obligation to repair the harm caused to all natural or legal persons concerned in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” She also recalls that resolution A/ES-10/L. 31/REV1 adopted on September 18, 2024, commits France, which voted for it and which set a deadline for Israeli withdrawal no later than 12 months after its adoption, i.e. September 18, 2025. She would like to know why France has, since this date, put in place no measure aimed at forcing Israel to respect this opinion, even though this results from France's international obligations. She asks him if the Government intends to impose economic sanctions on French financial and commercial entities which, through their investments or their franchises, continue to lend aid or assistance to the maintenance of the illegal occupation. Finally, she asks him if he intends to immediately summon the Israeli ambassador to France at the Quai d'Orsay and to consider severing diplomatic relations with Israel.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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