France bars North West Bank settlement council chief Yossi Dagan

French authorities turned back Yossi Dagan, head of the Shomron settlement council, at a Paris airport. The French Foreign Ministry said he was subject to an administrative entry ban because of his “active role” in settlement policy, while Israel called the decision “completely unacceptable”.

French authorities forced Yossi Dagan, head of the regional council of settlements in the northern occupied West Bank (Shomron), to leave the country after he arrived at an airport in Paris last week, according to a statement issued by his office on Wednesday.

The statement said Dagan was “questioned at passport control” before being informed that he was barred from entering French territory. i24NEWS, citing his office, reported that he had come to meet elected French officials and that an official showed him documents referring to his role in establishing 35 settlements and his efforts to reestablish the Gush Katif settlements evacuated from Gaza in 2005.

مدخل مستوطنة شافي شومرون شمال الضفة الغربية (أرشيف)

Paris: Settlements violate international law

The French Foreign Ministry did not confirm the deportation, but told France 24 that Dagan “is subject to an administrative ban on entering French territory because of his active role in implementing the settlement policy in the West Bank”. It added that “settlements violate international law and undermine the two-state solution”.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, called the move “completely unacceptable”, saying it was based on “clear political and ideological motives”. It said it would seek clarification from the French government and consider its next steps. Israel’s Channel 15 quoted Dagan as telling Army Radio that a representative of the French police had informed him that the decision was political, adding: “Today it is me, and tomorrow it could be any other Israeli citizen.”

According to i24NEWS, Dagan traveled to Prague after being turned back, where he spent three days meeting senior Czech officials and members of parliament. The channel said there was no known precedent for a Western country directly barring the head of a settlement regional council from entering its territory.

مدخل مستوطنة شافي شومرون شمال الضفة الغربية (أرشيف)

French and European precedents

France announced on February 13, 2024, that it was banning 28 Israeli settlers accused of attacking Palestinian civilians from entering the country. In March of the same year, EU foreign ministers reached a political agreement to impose sanctions on settlers over attacks against Palestinians.

More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem, alongside around three million Palestinians. United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, adopted in 2016, considers settlements built in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 illegal and a flagrant violation of international law.

Images: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0, CC0)

France bars North West Bank settlement council chief Yossi Dagan