'Unacceptable': France decides to 'sanction' Israeli ambassador over diplomatic row

By Nur Asena Erturk and Necva Tastan Sevinc

ANKARA / ISTANBUL (AA) - France decided to “sanction” the Israeli ambassador in the wake of last week’s temporary arrests of some of its consulate staffers in Jerusalem, the French foreign minister said Tuesday.

“It is a situation that is unacceptable, and that is why I decided to summon Israel’s ambassador to France,” Jean-Noel Barrot told broadcaster France 24.

The minister said: “France would not tolerate that Israeli security forces enter its premises,” without authorization.

“We considered this incident extremely serious, so I decided to activate the first of sanctions," Barrot said and added: "This signals that France would not accept that such an incident reoccurs… I sanction the ambassador.”

Ambassador Joshua Zarka was called to the ministry on Tuesday following Israeli forces arrested two staff members of France's Consulate General in Jerusalem on Nov. 7.

The staffers were released after Barrot intervened, and the ministry called the arrests “unacceptable,” noting that they took place even though the staffers had diplomatic status.

During a trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories last week, Barrot was due to visit Eleona, a French national estate, the ministry said in a statement last week.

Saying that Israeli security forces "armed without authorization” entered the site, the statement added that Barrot “did not wish to visit the estate under these conditions."

- Israeli minister’s possible visit to France

Barrot said he had no confirmation yet about Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s possible visit to France at the invitation of the Israel Forever Foundation for a gala.

“It is clear that we denounce the policy encouraged by this minister … that is to continue the illegal activity in terms of international law, which is colonization, aggressive colonization of the West Bank,” Barrot explained.

A French court rejected on Friday a request to cancel the gala scheduled for Nov. 13 in Paris with the participation of Smotrich, despite opposition from multiple rights groups and lawmakers.

- Europe more prepared for change in US

Following the reelection of Donald Trump as US president, Barrot expressed confidence that Europe is now "better equipped" to handle the challenges posed by a second Trump administration.

Emphasizing that Europe has long been preparing for the global transformation underway, he said: “We have survived 59 US presidential elections, and we will obviously survive the 60th."

Drawing attention to a key turning point in European strategy, he said: "Back in 2016, we were still under the dogma of free trade."

"It was unthinkable for Europe to consider sanctions or countermeasures against unjust commercial practices," Barrot added.

During Trump's first term as president, his administration imposed significant tariffs on European products, including a 25% tariff on steel and 10% on aluminum, as part of a broader protectionist trade policy.

These tariffs sparked tensions, leading to retaliatory measures from the EU, including tariffs on US goods such as motorcycles, and jeans.

Barrot further reiterated that should the Trump administration persist in what he termed a "major mistake," Europe would defend its agricultural, industrial, and commercial interests.

“We are ready to act in our own defense,” he concluded.