102 FORMER FRENCH AND BRITISH DIPLOMATS URGE JOINT ACTION ON PALESTINIAN...

One hundred and two former senior French and British diplomats issued a letter on Saturday calling on their governments to work together to uphold international law in the Palestinian territories. Published in Le Monde, the letter accused Israel of seeking to "destroy" any prospect of a viable Palestinian state and of showing "contempt for the law, the rulings of the International Court of Justice and countless UN Security Council resolutions." The signatories included former British ambassadors to the UN Jeremy Greenstock and Emyr Jones Parry, as well as former directors for the Middle East at the French foreign ministry Yves Aubin de la Messuziere and Denis Bauchard.

The diplomats stated that France and the UK, both permanent members of the UN Security Council, held historic responsibility in the Middle East, particularly given that both nations recognised a Palestinian state in 2025. They wrote that their governments must act jointly to hold accountable those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity, arguing that failure to do so would allow accusations of double standards to stand. The letter described house demolitions and "rampant settler violence – with the connivance of the Israeli army and police" – in annexed east Jerusalem and the West Bank as amounting to "ethnic cleansing."

The appeal comes amid heightened tensions in the occupied territories following Israel's military campaign in Gaza, which began after the 7 October 2023 attack by Hamas. Violence in the West Bank has intensified since the Gaza war began, prompting international concern over the conduct of Israeli troops and settlers. France and Britain this week joined other countries in releasing a statement condemning the Israeli government's release of new tenders for construction in the occupied West Bank.