I was on BBC Persian to discuss France’s decision to recognize the State of Palestine and the imperative for all States to use « all available means in international law to stop Israel’s genocide in Gaza », as urged by Israeli human rights NGOs this week B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights
The European Commission just proposed to suspend EU subsidies for dual-use technology (like drones which have been used to kill children, as documented). However, we need much bolder measures to stop Israel’s genocide.
– the EU needs to suspend its trade preferences (quota, tax-free imports) in the EU-Israel association agreement. Almost 20 EU states are in favour, but Germany or Italy still refuse.
– France needs to be consistent with its recognition of the State of Palestine: just like we ban products from Russian-occupied Crimea, we must ban products from illegal Israeli settlements. How can we import and invest, and therefore support the economic development, of israeli settlements knowing that this will make the goal of a viable Palestinian state even harder to attain?
– France and all other EU Member States must respect the ICC and ICJ courts, investigate and arrest war criminal suspects currently on holidays in the EU. France has 4 000 binationals serving in the Israeli army right now, some participating in the ethnic cleansing, displacement and starvation of millions of Palestinians, and whose army just killed 19,000 children in our name.
– We also need to ban far-right extremist settlers across the EU, while France led the way last February 2024 by banning 28 extremists. Fascist Ministers like Smotrich and Ben Gvir must not be allowed in the EU, as Slovenia and Sweden proposed.
Recognition is very important in the long run, but stopping the daily massacres of civilians, under our name, with our political and military and economic complicity, cannot wait for September.
BBC Persian interview:
