Question 8342 — foreign policy

Summary

Israel's settlement policy in the Palestinian Territories is illegal under international law. It harms the search for a just and lasting peace and threatens the two-State solution. The United Nations Security Council reiterated this position in resolution 2334, adopted on December 23, 2016. This is why France condemns the announcements of the construction of new housing in the colonies in West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as the demolitions and evacuations in zone C which contribute to the same degradation. Likewise, France publicly calls on the Israeli authorities to reconsider these decisions and to freeze colonization in order to preserve the two-state solution with Jerusalem as its capital. Security Council Resolution 2334 also calls on all States to make a distinction in their exchanges in this matter, between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967; concrete measures have been taken for several years at European and national level to this end, in the face of the acceleration of colonization. Thus, the European Union guidelines adopted in July 2013 by the European Commission exclude from any European funding Israeli entities active in the settlements, measure which came into force on January 1, 2014. If neither resolution 2334 nor European legislation provides for a ban on Israeli products from the colonies, the latter cannot benefit from the same regime as those produced in Israel. The customs preferences reserved for products originating in the territory of Israel under the trade agreement which links Israel to the European Union do not apply to occupied territories. For the sake of transparency and information for the European consumer, on November 11, 2015 the European Commission adopted a notice on the origin of goods produced in the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967. The Ministry of the Economy and Finance posted a notice online in November 2016 drawing the attention of economic operators to this notice. Differentiated labeling for products from colonies was the subject of a preliminary question addressed by the Council of State to the Court of Justice of the European Union. In this still pending procedure, France maintains that Union law requires such differentiated labeling. Furthermore, France also informs French companies and raises their awareness of the legal, economic and reputational risks they face by pursuing projects in Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law. Thus, France has published, in coordination with its European partners, clear messages to citizens and businesses that are engaged in economic or financial activities in Israeli settlements, or are considering doing so. They are reminded of these messages regularly by all the services concerned. France remains attentive to this subject, convinced that the question of settlements cannot be separated from that of the peace process. It continues to be committed to a just and lasting settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, based on the solution of two States living in peace and security within recognized borders and both having Jerusalem as their capital.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

Timeline

No timeline events have been ingested for this record yet.

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

No version snapshots stored. Document URLs remain at the source.

Documents

No documents linked.

Sponsors

No sponsors or actors listed by the source.

Related records

No cross-record relationships stored yet.