 "Jean-Noel Barrot, French minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, cancelled his visit to the Eleona domain. AFP")
France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot cancelled his visit to a holy site in Jerusalem after armed Israeli police barged into a Paris-owned church in the city and briefly arrested two French gendarmes. Shortly after the arrests, France summoned its Israeli ambassador to get a briefing on the whole ordeal.
The arrests were the latest of several controversies surrounding the Eleona sanctuary on the Mount of Olives, which along with three other sites make up the French national domain in the Holy Land. Both France and Israel are currently embroiled in a diplomatic row due to their disagreements over the Gaza war.
The holy French site has been the focus of several diplomatic incidents in the past. It is pertinent to note that the four sites which comprise the French national domain were attributed to the European nation before the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. The holy sites are now private property which is administered by the French consulate in Jerusalem.
‘Don’t touch me’ says French gendarme after Israeli police’s no-cause arrest
According to AFP, the Israeli police stormed into the French holy site and surrounded the two French gendarmes before pushing one of them to the ground. One of the French officials identified himself and shouted “Don’t touch me” several times. Both gendarmes were escorted to police cars parked outside before being released.
The Jewish nation has yet to give a reason for the arrests or why Israeli police entered the French-administered site. “I will not enter the Eleona domain today, because Israeli security forces entered with weapons, without prior French authorisation, without agreeing to leave today,” the French foreign minister said at the scene on Friday, calling the situation “unacceptable”.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“This violation of the integrity of a domain placed in the care of France is liable to weaken the ties that I came here to cultivate with Israel, at a time when all of us need to help the region advance on the path towards peace,” he added. The French diplomat emphasised that Eleona belonged to France for more than 150 years, and the European nation was responsible for its security and maintenance.
“The integrity of the four sites that France is responsible for here in Jerusalem must be respected,” he exclaimed. The Eleona, which houses a Benedictine monastery, is situated on the Mount of Olives in occupied East Jerusalem. It is known to be associated with the so-called Pater cave, where Christ was said to have taught his disciples the Lord’s Prayer.
In January 2020, French President Emmanuel Macron reprimanded an Israeli police officer in front of the Sainte-Anne basilica while he was getting mobbed. “I don’t like what you did in front of me," he was heard screaming. Back in 1996, then-French President Jacques Chirac told Israeli soldiers surrounding him: “Do you want me to go back to my plane?” demanding that the soldiers leave the Sainte-Anne site.
With inputs from agencies.