102 Former French, British Diplomats Urge Israel Sanctions Over 1,200-Home E1 Plan
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 22
102 Former French, British Diplomats Urge Israel Sanctions Over 1,200-Home E1 Plan
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 22
Summary
A joint letter from 102 former French and British diplomats urged Paris and London to impose trade and arms bans on Israel, saying Palestine is being “erased” and a two-state solution is being destroyed.
Seven proposed steps include suspending EU-Israel and UK-Israel agreements, halting military cooperation, banning trade with settlements and penalizing bidders tied to the E1 project and property purchases on Palestinian land.
The intervention came two days after Britain, France and nine other countries condemned Israeli tenders for 1,200 homes in the E1 settlement area, a project London says would bisect the West Bank.
The diplomats said 2 million Gazans are confined to 30% of devastated territory and more than 1,200 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire, while house demolitions and settler violence in the West Bank amount to ethnic cleansing.
Their appeal seeks to push Emmanuel Macron and Andy Burnham beyond last year’s recognition of Palestine into concrete penalties as Israel rejects a 15-point US-led Gaza peace plan ahead of Oct. 27 Israeli elections.