More than 100 French and British former diplomats have said Palestine is being erased in front of the world’s eyes and called for urgent action, including trade and arms sales bans to press Israel to accept a Palestinian state.
An unprecedented joint letter dispenses with diplomatic language by accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing and warning that the world no longer sees Israel as a genuine democracy. The letter is addressed to French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
The letter has been signed by 52 French former diplomats and 50 British former ambassadors, many of whom served in the Middle East. Signatories include two former UK envoys to the UN, Jeremy Greenstock and Emyr Jones Parry, and former French Middle East director Patrice Paoli.
The Accusations
“In Gaza, 2 million Palestinians are kettled into 30% of their devastated land, hungry, lacking medicine and housing,” the diplomats write. “In East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank, Palestinian house demolitions and rampant settler violence amount to ethnic cleansing. Palestine is being erased before our eyes.”
They argue that the overdue step of recognising Palestine “needs to be made real by urgent action to safeguard the Palestinian right to self-determination, as the Israeli government seeks to destroy any prospect of an independent Palestinian state.”
“Mr Netanyahu’s assertion that Israel must live by the sword is morally wrong and counterproductive. It imperils Israel’s security and leaves no room for negotiation. As a result, the world no longer sees Israel as a genuine democracy.”
The Call for Action
The diplomats urge Britain and France to take seven policy steps:
- Uphold decisions of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court
- Suspend the EU-Israel association agreement and the UK-Israel trade and partnership agreement
- Suspend arms transfers to and from Israel
- Insist on unrestricted aid access to Gaza
- Ban all trade with settlements
- Warn bidders for the E1 settlement project of consequences
- Make it an offence for citizens to buy property on stolen Palestinian land
The Context
The letter comes two days after the UK and France, along with nine other countries, condemned Israel’s publication of construction tenders for the E1 settlement project. The UK foreign secretary summoned the most senior Israeli diplomat in London over the issue.
In response, Israel’s foreign minister vowed Israel would “not remain passive,” saying the “Jewish people have a right to live throughout Israel just as British people have a right to live throughout the UK.”
The Bottom Line
More than 100 former British and French diplomats have signed an unprecedented joint letter accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing and “erasure” of Palestine. They are calling on the UK and French governments to impose trade and arms bans, suspend bilateral agreements, and take other measures to pressure Israel to accept a Palestinian state. The letter comes amid growing international frustration over Israel’s settlement expansion and the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
