France is joining the Western harassment campaign against Israelis living in Samaria, who are often forced to defend themselves against attacks by neighboring Palestinian Authority Arabs long before Israeli military forces are able to arrive on the scene.
According to an announcement Tuesday by French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné, France has joined the United States and Britain in imposing sanctions against so-called “extremist Israeli settlers” the Western nations claim are “guilty of violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank.
“As such, 28 individuals are subject to an administrative ban from French territory,” Séjourné said in the statement. “France reaffirms its firm condemnation of this unacceptable violence. As we have stated on numerous occasions, it is the responsibility of the Israeli authorities to put an end to it and prosecute its perpetrators,” he added.
The harassment of Israeli residents in Samaria began two weeks ago with the first round of sanctions imposed on four Israelis by the United States.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the move. “The vast majority of residents of Judea and Samaria are law-abiding citizens, many of whom are fighting right now in active and reserve duty to protect Israel,” he pointed out.
“Israel acts against all violators of the law in all places and therefore there is no place for drastic steps on this matter,” Netanyahu added.
The prime minister also raised the matter in his phone call on Sunday (Feb. 11) with US President Joe Biden, noting that for some time already there has been a decrease in the number of attacks against Palestinian Authority Arabs in Judea and Samaria.
Last month, then-Foreign Minister Eli Cohen called the claims of “growing settler violence” a “blood libel” and “a lie disconnected from reality.”





