Israel cancels entry visas for 27 left-wing French lawmakers days before trip

Israel canceled visas for 27 French left-wing lawmakers and local officials two days before they were to start a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, the group said Sunday.

The action came only days after two British members of parliament from the governing Labour party were barred from entering the country.

It also came amidst diplomatic tensions after President Emmanuel Macron said France could soon recognize a Palestinian state. Macron has sought to pressure Jerusalem over conditions in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war.

The Interior Ministry said visas for the 27 were canceled under a law that allows authorities to ban people who could act against the state.

Seventeen members of the group, from France’s Ecologist and Communist parties, said they had been victims of “collective punishment” by Israel and called on Macron to intervene.

“For the first time, two days before our departure, the Israeli authorities canceled our entry visas that had been approved one month ago,” they said. “We want to understand what led to this sudden decision, which resembles collective punishment.”

The delegation included National Assembly deputies Francois Ruffin, Alexis Corbiere and Julie Ozenne from the Ecologist Party; Communist Party deputy Soumya Bourouaha, and Communist Party senator Marianne Margate. The other members were left-wing town mayors and local lawmakers.

“Deliberately preventing elected officials and parliamentarians from travelling cannot be without consequences,” the group said, demanding a meeting with Macron and action by the government to ensure Israel let them into the country.

The group said their parties had for decades called for recognition of a Palestinian state, which Macron said last week could come at an international conference in June.

Israeli authorities this month detained British members of parliament Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed at Ben Gurion Airport and deported them, citing the same reason. Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy called the action “unacceptable.”

In February, Israel stopped two left-wing European parliament deputies, Franco-Palestinian Rima Hassan and Lynn Boylan from Ireland, from entering.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reacted with fury to France’s possible recognition of a Palestinian state. He said establishing a Palestinian state next to Israel in the wake of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack would be a “huge reward for terrorism.”